SPOKANE, Wash., June 13, 2014 – At the 2014 U.S. Elite Challenge at the Spokane (Wash.) Convention Center, the top men and women qualified for the finals for men’s and women’s trampoline, tumbling and double mini-trampoline, which are scheduled for Saturday, June 14. Elite finals in each of the three different events will be held Saturday, June 14, at beginning at 6 p.m. PT.
The athletes with the top qualifying scores for the senior elite competition are: trampoline – Logan Dooley of Lake Forest, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics and Charlotte Drury of Laguna Niguel, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics; tumbling — Austin Nacey of Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline LTD and Yuliya Stankevich-Brown of Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics; and double mini-trampoline — Austin White of Newport Coast, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics and Erin Jauch of Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline.
In addition to the junior and senior elite levels, the U.S. Elite Challenge also includes athletes competing in Level 10 and Youth Elite and Open Elite. The U.S. representatives for trampoline for the Youth Olympic Games will be be determined following the U.S. Elite Challenge.
For complete results, including Levels 5-7 National Trampoline and Tumbling Championships, click here.
Available at the door, $15 a day. For a complete schedule, click here.
The Spokane Sports Commission worked with USA Gymnastics to bring the event to Spokane and will assist with organizing and staging the competition. Spokane Gymnastics will also be involved as part of the local organizing committee.
Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat. Synchronized trampoline demands the same athletic skill as individual trampoline, while adding the element of precision timing. Using two trampolines, two athletes perform identical 10-skill routines at the same time. Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.