Details Announced for 2020 U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas

All-session ticket packages for the 2020 U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, June 4-7, are on sale now. The U.S. Championships determines the men’s and women’s U.S. champions and U.S. National Teams for the junior and senior elite levels. In 2020, performances at the U.S. Championships will play a major role in determining which athletes advance to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics, June 25-28, in St. Louis, Mo.

All-session ticket packages, which include tickets to all eight competitive sessions, range in price from $209-$609, plus applicable fees. The platinum ticket package includes VIP seating, an Olympian meet-and-greet, and a USA Gymnastics gift. Tickets may be purchased at dickiesarena.com. For groups of 10 or more, contact Dickies Arena Group Sales at 817.402.9102. Discounted tickets are available through local gymnastics clubs that are participating in the gym club ticket program.

The tentative competition schedule, which is subject to change, is below. All times are Central.

·       Thursday, June 4:  Men’s gymnastics – 12:30 p.m., juniors, and 6 p.m., seniors

·       Friday, June 5:  Women’s gymnastics – 1 p.m., juniors, and 6:30 p.m., seniors

·       Saturday, June 6:  Men’s gymnastics – 1 p.m., seniors, and 7 p.m., juniors

·       Sunday, June 7:  Women’s gymnastics – 12 p.m., juniors, and 5:30 p.m., seniors

The U.S. Championships determines the U.S. junior and senior champions for the all-around and individual events for men’s and women’s gymnastics, as well as the members of the junior and senior national teams. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, both 2016 Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre, and two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif./U.S. Olympic Training Center, won their sixth U.S. women’s and men’s all-around titles, respectively. Recently, Biles won her fifth World all-around title and a total of five gold World medals, setting a new record of 25 for most World gymnastics medals won by a female or male gymnast.

In addition to Biles, current national men’s and women’s team members who live in or have ties with Texas include Sydney Barros, Lewisville/Texas Dreams; Fuzzy Benas, Richmond/EnRich Gymnastics; Skye Blakely, Frisco/WOGA; Garrett Braunton, Cypress/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics; Sophia Butler, Houston/Discover Gymnastics; Jordan Chiles, Houston/World Champions Centre; Asher Hong, Tomball/Cypress Academy; Colt Walker, Cedar Park/AcroTex Gymnastics; and Colin Van Wicklen, Magnolia/University of Oklahoma.

The U.S. Gymnastics Championships was last held in Texas in 2009 when it was staged at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Houston has hosted the event twice, both times in the Olympic year (1988, 2008). Some well-known gymnasts who have called Texas home include Olympic all-around champions Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Biles; Olympic medalists Mohini Bhardwaj, Raj Bhavsar, Kim Zmeskal Burdette, Jonathan Horton, Madison Kocian, Julianne McNamara, Phoebe Mills, Dominique Moceanu, Betty Okino and Kerri Strug; and World medalists Chris Brooks, Rebecca Bross, Ivana Hong, Steve Legendre, Ragan Smith, Kurt Thomas and Hollie Vise.

The Fort Worth Sports Commission and Dickies Arena are the local partners for the 2020 U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

The roster of former U.S. all-around champions is a veritable who’s who of gymnastics, including:  women – Jordyn Wieber, Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Patterson, Courtney Kupets, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Zmeskal and Retton; and men – Horton, Paul Hamm, Blaine Wilson, John Roethlisberger, Mitch Gaylord, Peter Vidmar and Bart Conner. The U.S. Gymnastics Championships traces its history back to 1897 for the men and 1931 for the women.

Background information

·       Fort Worth Sports Commission.The Fort Worth Sports Commission advances the city as an international sports destination. A division of Visit Fort Worth, the Sports Commission attracts youth, collegiate, professional and Olympic events that deliver economic impact and boost Fort Worth’s image. The Commission supports development of and access to facilities that enhance the quality of life for all Fort Worth. Upcoming events include National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships, USA Table Tennis US Open, USA Wrestling Senior Nationals and the AAC Men’s Basketball Championships. For more information, visit www.FortWorth.com/Sports.

·       Dickies Arena. Dickies Arena is a 14,000 seat, spectacular multipurpose venue located adjacent to the Will Rogers Memorial Center campus in Fort Worth, Texas. The facility is the result of a pioneering public-private partnership between the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, the State of Texas and a group of private-sector participants, including foundations, individuals and organizations. The arena is owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by the not-for-profit operating entity, Trail Drive Management Corp. (TDMC). The state-of-the-art arena hosts concerts, sporting events and family entertainment, and is home to Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo performances. For more information, visit www.DickiesArena.com.

·       USA Gymnastics. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its athlete safety policies and procedures, including adopting the updated USA Gymnastics Safe Sport Policy. Former gymnast and business executive Li Li Leung is the new president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, visit usagym.org.