Seven U.S. rhythmic gymnasts will compete at 2009 Chicago Cup

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., June 3, 2009 – Seven of the USA’s top rhythmic gymnasts – including Chicago natives and North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center gymnasts Ava Gehringer of Evanston, Ill., and Jazzy Kerber of Highland Park, Ill.- will compete in the inaugural Chicago Cup, an international rhythmic gymnastics competition at Chicago’s Broadway Armory Park on June 19-21.

The U.S. squad is comprised of: seniors – Rachel Marmer of Los Angeles/Eurogymnastics, Michelle Milstein of Eagan, Minn./International Gymnastics of Minnesota, Julie Zetlin of Bethesda, Md./Rhythmflex, and Gehringer; and juniors – Olga Pavlenko of Flushing, N.Y./Isadora, Rebecca Sereda of Staten Island, N.Y./ Isadora, and Kerber. In addition to the U.S. team, the field will include gymnasts from Argentina, Canada, Finland, Mexico and Russia.

Marmer and Gehringer were both members of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 2008 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships presented by Venus Gillette. Marmer took home the all-around silver medal at the last two Visa Championships, and Gehringer placed third in the all-around at Visa Championships in 2006 and 2008. Zetlin was the 2007 Pan American silver medalist in ribbon. Earlier this year, Kerber and Sereda combined to earn seven international junior medals.

The three-day event will feature senior and junior division all-around and individual event competition. The first two days of competition determine the all-around champion (the gymnast with the highest aggregate score after four events), as well as the top eight gymnasts for each apparatus who advance to the individual event finals.

The competition schedule is outlined below. Start times may be adjusted depending on the number of participants.

The apparatus for the Chicago Cup will be rope, hoop, ball and ribbon at the senior level, while the juniors will compete in rope, hoop, ball and clubs. The all-around competition includes routines on all four apparatus. Individual event finals feature qualified gymnasts competing on each apparatus for a score.

Individual session tickets for the Chicago Cup are $15 for June 19-20 and $20 for June 21. An all-session ticket, which provides access to all Chicago Cup sessions, is available for $45. Tickets may be purchased through participating local gymnastics clubs or online at www.usa-gymnastics.org/chicagocup. Visa is the preferred method of payment.

Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior Olympic Championships
The U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior Olympic Championships, which showcases the country’s best Level 7-9 gymnasts, and the Level 10 Invitational will be held in conjunction with the Chicago Cup. The Junior Olympic Championships span six days, with competition at the Broadway Armory and Trinity International University. For the complete competition schedule, go to www.usa-gymnastics.org/chicagocup. Junior Olympic tickets may be purchased onsite.