USA Gymnastics has awarded the 2017 USA Gymnastics Championships, which showcases more than 1,800 of the country’s best gymnasts in acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling, to Milwaukee, Wis. Scheduled for June 27-July 2, Junior Olympic competition will be staged at the Wisconsin Center for the entire six days. The junior and senior elite competition will be held at the BMO Harris Bradley Center from June 29-July 1.
“Milwaukee will be the perfect host for this event,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “Summertime is a beautiful season in Milwaukee and I am sure everyone will enjoy being there.”
Performances in Milwaukee will also determine berths on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling. For rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling, the competition will be part of the selection process for the 2017 World Championships. In addition, the USA Gymnastics Championships will be part of the selection process for the U.S. teams that will compete at the 2017 World Games, the equivalent of the Olympic Games for sports and events not included in the Olympics.
The Junior Olympic division has several different levels, and national titles will be awarded for each level and age group for each discipline.
VISIT Milwaukee is working in conjunction with USA Gymnastics on the championships. This is the event’s first trip to Milwaukee, which hosted the 2003 U.S. Championships for men’s and women’s gymnastics.
“Milwaukee is excited to welcome the USA Gymnastics Championships. As a great sports destination with passionate sports fans, we look forward to giving the athletes a memorable experience,” said Paul Upchurch, president & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee.
The competition schedule will be available in the near future and tickets will go on sale in 2017.
The USA Gymnastics Championships was first held in 2014 at the KFC Yum! Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.; and the other sites were the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum Complex in 2015 and the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin’ Donuts Center in 2016. For more information on the USA Gymnastics Championships, please go to usagymchamps.com.
Acrobatic gymnastics combines the beauty of dance with the strength and agility of acrobatics. Routines are choreographed to music and consist of dance, tumbling, and partner skills. At the elite level, each pair or group performs a balance, dynamic and combined routine. Pyramids and partner holds characterize the balance routine, while synchronized tumbling and intricate flight elements define the dynamic exercise. An acrobatic gymnastics pair consists of a base and a top. A women's group is comprised of three athletes - a base, middle and top partner – while a men's group has four athletes, a base, two middle partners and one top partner.
Rhythmic gymnastics is characterized by grace, beauty and elegance combined with dance and acrobatic elements, while working with ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes and clubs in a choreographed routine to music. The choreography must cover the entire floor and contain a balance of jumps, leaps, pivots, balances and flexibility movements. Only four of the five apparatus are competed in competition, based on a two-year rotation. The four for 2017-18 are hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Each movement involves a high degree of athletic skill. Physical abilities needed by a rhythmic gymnast include strength, power, flexibility, agility, dexterity, endurance and hand-eye coordination. For rhythmic group, the apparatus for 2017-18 are five hoops and three balls/two ropes, and for 2019-20, five balls and three hoops/two pairs of clubs.
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.
Background information
VISIT Milwaukee. VISIT Milwaukee is the chief image and tourism marketing organization of the greater Milwaukee area. Its mission is to market greater Milwaukee as the destination for conventions, events and leisure travel.
BMO Harris Bradley Center. Celebrating more than 25 years of providing the most diverse lineup of sports and entertainment available, the BMO Harris Bradley Center continues to be the number one entertainment destination in downtown Milwaukee for fans of all ages. The BMO Harris Bradley Center (formerly the Bradley Center) was built through the generosity of the late Jane Bradley Pettit in memory of her father, Harry Lynde Bradley, co-founder and chairman of the Allen-Bradley Company (now Rockwell Automation). The Center is the only major, public assembly facility in North America with construction underwritten through the philanthropy of a single family. Construction of the Center broke ground in October 1986, and the building opened its doors to thousands of sports and entertainment fans two years later. Today, the BMO Harris Bradley Center is home to the NBA Milwaukee Bucks, and the Marquette University Golden Eagles NCAA men’s basketball team.
Wisconsin Center. The Wisconsin Center, located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, opened in 1998 as the Midwest Express Center. Designed for both sensory delight and efficiency, the Wisconsin Center is home to the $1.2 million Burke Family Collection of commissioned and integrated art. Opened in 1998 and completed by the end of 1999, the Wisconsin Center has 188,695 square feet of contiguous, state-of-the-art exhibit space and a 37,506 square-foot ballroom with capacity for 3,150 diners and ample utilities for corporate theater. An additional 39,364 square feet of meeting space can be partitioned into as many as 28 meeting and breakout rooms equipped for satellite links, video teleconferencing, data transmission and other telecommunications and audio-visual technology. The 2,500-4,100 seat Milwaukee Theatre – formerly the Milwaukee Auditorium – provides assembly space or entertainment right across the street. Skywalks to the Hilton and Hyatt hotels link some 1,500 rooms to the Wisconsin Center.
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, acrobatic gymnastics and Gymnastics for All (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to www.usagym.org.
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