Stars and Stripes Cup Begins Aug. 29 in Daytona Beach

The USA’s best in men’s and women’s trampoline, tumbling, synchronized trampoline and double mini-trampoline will compete in the final selection event for the U.S. World Championships and Age Group Competition Team when they take to the floor at the 2013 Stars and Stripes Cup, Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at Daytona Beach’s (Fla.) Ocean Center. This year’s senior U.S. champions who are expected to compete include Jeffrey Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./ETA, and Hayley Butcher of Saint John, Ind./Midwest Training and Ice Center, trampoline; Yuliya Stankevich-Brown of Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics, tumbling; and Ryan Roberts of Ramona, Calif./Southern California TTC, and Kristle Lowell of Orland Park, Ill./Branch Gymnastics, double mini-trampoline.

The U.S. Teams for the World Championships, scheduled for Nov. 7-10, 2013, and the World Age Group Competition, Nov. 13-17, will be announced following the conclusion of the Stars and Stripes Cup.  Both the World Championships and World Age Group Competition will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The senior elite competition schedule is:  Aug. 30, qualification – men’s and women’s trampoline at 3 p.m., women’s and men’s tumbling at 5:15 and 6 p.m., men’s and women’s synchronized trampoline and double mini-trampoline at 6:45 and 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 30, finals –  men’s and women’s synchronized trampoline at 8:15 and 8:45 p.m.; and Aug. 31, finals – women’s trampoline at 5:30 p.m., women’s tumbling at 6 p.m., men’s double-mini at 7 p.m., men’s tumbling at 7:30 p.m., and men’s trampoline and women’s double-mini at 8 p.m. For the complete competition schedule, click here.

In addition to the junior and senior elite levels, the Stars and Stripes Cup also includes athletes in Levels 8-10 and the Olympic Development Program. The senior elite level will have preliminary, semifinal and final rounds.  The Olympic Development Team will be named after the conclusion of the Stars and Stripes Cup. 

The local organizations assisting with the hosting and staging of the Stars and Stripes Cup are the Central Florida Sports Commission, the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.

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.  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.

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, acrobatic gymnastics and group gymnastics. For more information, log on to www.usagym.org.