BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (July 7, 2022) – After a year-long delay caused by the ongoing pandemic, The World Games, which take place every four years and serve as the equivalent to the Olympic Games for non-Olympic disciplines, will return to the U.S. for the first time in more than 40 years this evening in Birmingham, Ala. The opening ceremonies, slated for 8:30 p.m. ET, kick off 10 days of competition across 34 unique sports, including five gymnastics disciplines. In all, 223 champions will be crowned from among more than 3,500 competitors.

Thirteen U.S. gymnasts, representing the acrobatic, rhythmic, and trampoline and tumbling disciplines, and one parkour athlete will look to leave their mark on the world’s biggest stage. Team USA collected three medals – all in T&T – in 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland, the last time the event was held.

This year’s The World Games will span numerous venues around the Birmingham metro with gymnastics competitions limited to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) and Sloss Furnaces, a local National Historic Landmark and industrial museum.

In addition to a preview show July 9, CBS Sports Network will air nightly highlight coverage July 8-17. Fans can also stream the action live on The World Games 24/7 Channel at Olympics.com.

Competition details are summarized below by discipline. More information, including how to purchase tickets, can be found at TWG2022.com.

Parkour

Parkour, the competitive practice of navigating an area from one point to another in the most fluid and efficient way possible, is making its The World Games debut and will lead off all gymnastics events July 10-11 at Sloss Furnaces. The United States’ Reagan Chan (Lehi, Utah/YGT Freerunning) is set to compete in the women’s freestyle and speed divisions. The U.S. did not qualify a spot on the men’s side.

The top-eight freestyle athletes and top-six speed competitors during qualifications will advance to event finals where the winners will be decided. Sessions will take place as follows:

  • Sunday, July 10: Women’s speed parkour – qualifications at 7:30 p.m. ET, final at 8:40 p.m. ET
  • Monday, July 11: Women’s freestyle parkour – qualifications at 4:00 p.m. ET, final at 8:00 p.m. ET

 

Rhythmic

Olympians Evita Griskenas (Orland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) and Lili Mizuno (Northbrook, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) will pull double duty after competing for team and group all-around titles, respectively, in Tokyo last summer. In a departure from the Olympic program, the World Games crowns winners on each rhythmic gymnastics apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon.

U.S. gymnasts will qualify with Group A. The top-eight scorers on each event will advance to apparatus finals, which will serve as the medal round. Competition will take place at the BJCC Legacy Arena as outlined below.

  • Tuesday, July 12: Hoop and ball – Group A qualifications at 3:00 p.m. ET, finals at 7:20 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Wednesday, July 13: Clubs and ribbon – Group A qualifications at 3:00 p.m. ET, finals at 7:20 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. ET

 

Acrobatic

Men’s pair World champions Angel Felix (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Braiden McDougall (Riverside, Calif.) and women’s pair World silver medalists Katie Borcherding (Pacific, Mo.) and Cierra McKown (Riverside, Calif.), both of Realis Gymnastics Academy, will be joined by the women’s trio from Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer comprised of Isabel Chang (Columbia, Md.), Sydney Martin (Glenwood, Md.) and Maria Wooden (Derwood, Md.), as the 2022 elite international acrobatic gymnastics season swings through the United States.

The top-four pairs and groups in each division after the balance and dynamic exercises will advance to the event finals, where scores reset and winners will be based on the results of the combined exercise. U.S. acrobats will compete July 15-16 at the BJCC Legacy Arena as follows:

  • Friday, July 15: Women’s pair – balance exercise at 4 p.m. ET, dynamic exercise at 5:50 p.m. ET, final at 8 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, July 16: Men’s pair – dynamic exercise at 4:45 p.m. ET, balance exercise at 6:25 p.m. ET, final at 9:45 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, July 16: Women’s group – balance exercise at 5:10 p.m. ET, dynamic exercise at 6:50 p.m. ET, final at 9:10 p.m. ET

Trampoline and tumbling

World team double mini champion Tristan Van Natta (Marysville, Ohio/Integrity Athletics) and World individual double mini silver medalist Ruben Padilla (Bluffdale, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline & Tumbling) will represent the U.S. on their signature apparatus, while World individual tumbling bronze medalist Kaden Brown (Herriman, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline & Tumbling) and 2022 AERE World Cup champion Miah Bruns (Crete, Ill./World Champions Centre) take on the men’s and women’s tumbling fields.

The top-eight athletes in each division will qualify to a two-part final round. After the first finals routine, the field will be trimmed once again with the top-four gymnastics advancing to show a winner-take-all final pass. The BJCC Legacy Arena will host all trampoline and tumbling events July 15-17.

  • Friday, July 15: Men’s double mini – qualifications at 5:10 p.m. ET, final at 9:10 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, July 16: Women’s tumbling – qualifications at 4 p.m. ET, final at 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Sunday, July 17: Women’s double mini – qualifications at 10 a.m. ET, final at 12:50 p.m. ET
  • Sunday, July 17: Men’s tumbling – qualifications at 11:25 a.m. ET, final at 2 p.m. ET