Alicia Sacramone at the 2007 Visa Championships
© Steve Lange

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 18, 2007 – Visa and USA Gymnastics today announced they have extended their partnership through 2012.  Among its sponsor benefits, Visa, USA Gymnastics’ longest standing partner, has title sponsorship of the Visa Championships, USA Gymnastics‘ premier event, as the cornerstone of its involvement.

 

“We are excited to extend our relationship with Visa through the next Olympic quadrennium,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “Visa is one of the most dynamic marketing partners in the industry and we have a long tradition of success and cooperation in working together. We look forward to continuing this partnership.”

 

“USA Gymnastics has been a cornerstone of Visa‘s overall support of the Olympic movement,” said Michael Lynch, senior vice president, Visa USA.  “We are proud to be able to continue providing valuable support for America‘s Olympic team hopefuls on their journey towards the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and London for the 2012 Olympic Games.”

 

The Visa Championships is the crown jewel of USA Gymnastics‘ national events, serving as the national championships for men‘s and women‘s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics.  The 2007 Visa Championships concludes today in San Jose, Calif., and the 2008 Visa Championships will have the men‘s competition in Houston on May

22-24 and the women‘s competition in Boston on June 5-7.

 

In addition to title sponsorship, Visa‘s benefits also include category exclusivity, presence on both television and online broadcasts and at events, hospitality and business-to-business opportunities within the community.

 

About Visa USA

Visa USA is a leading payments brand and the nation‘s largest payments system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders – financial institutions, cardholders and merchants.  As of March 31, 2007, in the United States, more than 521 million Visa-branded cards have been issued by more than 13,000 financial institution customers.