INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The USA’s top trampoline and tumbling athletes will begin the 2007 competitive season in Lubbock, Texas, when they compete in the Winter Classic, Feb. 23-24, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. 2006 U.S. trampoline champions Erin Blanchard of Lafayette, La., and Chris Estrada of Lafayette, La., are expected to compete in the event, along with local favorites Amanda Bailey of Sundown, Texas, the 2006 U.S. synchronized trampoline champion, and Chris Adair of Lubbock, the Winter Classic’s defending tumbling champion and the 2006 U.S. tumbling silver-medalist.

The Winter Classic features all four events: trampoline, synchronized trampoline, double mini-trampoline and tumbling. Both the qualification and final rounds for synchronized trampoline are on Feb. 23, in addition to the qualification round for double mini-trampoline and tumbling. Trampoline’s qualification round is on the morning of Feb. 24. The finals for trampoline, double mini-trampoline and tumbling begin at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24. The full competition schedule is available on the USA Gymnastics Web site at www.usa-gymnastics.org/tt.

Serving as a fundraiser for the Nard Cazzell Scholarship Fund, admission is $1 per person on Feb. 23 and until 6 p.m. on Feb. 24. Admission into the final round on Feb. 24 is free. Air Extreme, a local gymnastics club, is hosting an event for Levels 1-10 in conjunction with the Winter Classic.

In addition to Adair, the other senior elite champions from last year’s Winter Classic are: women’s trampoline – Alaina Hebert of Broussard, La.; men’s trampoline – Estrada; women’s synchronized trampoline – Brittany Dircks of Orland Park, Ill., and Hebert; men’s synchronized trampoline – Logan Dooley of Lake Forest, Calif., and Austin White of Irvine, Calif.; women’s double-mini trampoline – Shelley Klochan of Whiting, Ind.; men’s double-mini trampoline – Josh Vance of Rockford, Mich.; and women’s tumbling – Kaycee Melvin of Morton, Ill.

Blanchard was the 2006 U.S. champion in trampoline and synchronized trampoline. She won the women’s junior trampoline title at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships and the senior trampoline title at the 2006 U.S. Elite Challenge. In addition to his 2006 Winter Classic trampoline title, Estrada, the 2005 U.S. trampoline champion, won a team gold medal at the 2006 Pan American Championships.

In 2006, Bailey placed third in trampoline at the U.S. Trampoline and Tumbling Championships and fourth in trampoline at the Pan American Championships. Adair was the 2004 U.S. junior double-mini trampoline champion.

The Winter Classic is one of three national events, in addition to the U.S. National Championships, where junior and senior athletes earn points toward qualifying for the national team.

About USA Gymnastics

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men”s and women”s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics.