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WORLD CHAMPION ACROBATS COMPETE AT BONDAREV CUP IN MINSK, BELARUS 2 BRONZE MEDALS FOR BRITISH ACROBATS! Russian acrobats dominated the 2006 Bondarev Cup in Minsk, Belarus but the Belarus Tumblers reigned supreme in front of their home crowd sweeping every podium place in the Men & Womens Tumbling Finals. The event saw the current Russian Mixed Pairs World Champion Revaz Gurgenidze appear with his new partner Tatiana Okulova. Great Britain’s Lee Colley and Sarah Cameron collected the bronze medals in a top class field after a terrific performance from the Wakefield Pair. The World Champions Alina Yushko and Ekaterina Murashko from Belarus also competed claiming the Gold Medals in the Womens Pairs.
Elina Mushko and Ekaterina Murashko from Belarus, current World Champions and Gold medalists at the Bondarev Cup. All photos in this feature are copyright of Eloisa Valdes and Isabel Silva and must not be copied or reproduced without permission. The Event is held each year in memory of Alexander Bondarev the President of the Belarus Acrobatics Federation and was first held in 1965. Top Acrobats and Tumblers from around the World compete in this prestigious Event with 6 nations represented in Minsk including Russia, Belarus, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland and Moldavia. British Internationals Katherine Smith, Jessica Dangerfield and Ciara McGrath from Harefield travelled thousands of miles to compete and came home with bronze medals after a great competition with Belgium claiming Gold and Silver. The eagerly awaited debut of Revaz Gurgenidze and Tatians Okulova did not dissapoint as the pair produced spectacular clean routines full of difficulty which were performed superbly for the best performance of the competition. Russian team mates Alexander Barbelin and Anastasia Gorbatyuk took the Silver medals with Great Britain’s Lee Colley and Sarah Cameron in bronze position. Sarah also won the Gold Medal in the 2005 Bondarev Cup with Nick Illingworth, and the Belarus pair of Anastasia Zhernosek and Sergei Bukhovtsek winning Silver. Interestingly the Russians won only one gold medal in the 2005 Event in the Womens Group Finals, but they came back strongly this year to win both Individual honours and the Team Gold and Silver medals.
Great Britain’s Lee Colley and Sarah Cameron, Bronze medalists in Minsk. A strong performance from Belgium also as they claimed Gold and Silver in the Womens Groups Event as Maaike Croket, Soen Geirnaert and Corrine van Hornbeeck from Acro Pro Gymnastics won the 2006 Bondarev Title scoring 85.924, with the junior trio of Chloe Alliet, Tatiana De Vos and Florence Henrist from Sportac 86 winning Silver with 84.660. The GB Trio of Katherine Smith, Ciara McGrath and Jessica Dangerfield won the bronze medals with another fine performance.
Katie Smith, Ciara McGrath and Jess Dangerfield produced an excellent performance to win bronze in the Womens Groups. The 2006 Womens Pairs World Champions Alina Yushko and Ekaterina Murashko from Belarus successfully defended their Bondarev Title by a convincing margin over their Russian rivals Irina Bulekho and Olga Tyurina. Belarus also won bronze with Irina Schuka and Margarita Bartoschevich. Alina and Ekaterina repeated their 2005 success where they edged the Russian pair Yulya Shibalova and Maria Skopina by 0.5 to claim the Womens Pairs Title.
Denis Chernet, Ruslan Uresev, Taymura Gurgenidze and Sergei Maximov at the Coimbra World Championships In the men’s competitions, Russian reigned supreme as the 2006 Russian Champions Viacheslav Spirin and Stanislav Kotelnikov won the Gold Medals with Ruslan Uresev, Denis Chernat, Teymuraz Gurgenidze and Sergei Maximov also claiming Gold in the Mens Groups. Russia also won Silver in both events with Pilipchuk and Dudchenko in Mens Pairs and Sergienko, Stretsenko, Gerasimov and Avotian in the Mens Groups edging the Belarus male acrobats into bronze position in both Finals.
Konstantin Pilipchuk and Alexei Dudchenko, Silver Medalists in Minsk In Tumbling Belarus dominated the Men and Womens Events sweeping gold, silver and bronze in both categories. Last year the Ukranian tumblers won the Womens Finals with Anna Zayen and Anastasia Emelionova winning Gold and Silver, but the Ukraniand did not compete at this years event. The Belarus 2004 World Cup Final winner Andrei Kabishev also withdrew for the second year running, and the withdrawl of the 2006 World Cup Final bronze medalist Anna Terenia; the Belarus Tumblers continued to demonstrate superb difficulty and technique as Sergei Artemenko and Ekaterina Artemenko both claimed gold in the Men & Women’s Tumbling Events. Sergei had won the 2005 Title by a margin of more than 4 points and the 23 year old again executed great high tarrif runs to successfully defend the Bondarev Title. It was unfortunate that Ukraine did not compete as it would have been a fascinating contest after they defeated the Belarus 1 and 2 Teams by a margin of 0.8 in 2005, and they also won the Womens Team Tumbling again pushing the Belarus tumblers into silver and bronze. We will have to wait until the 2007 World Cup Events to once again see the tumblers go head to head with both Russia and the Ukraine, and of course the fantastic GB Team who will challenge strongly for more International honours after a superb 2006 which ended with Sam Palmer’s sensational performance in Birmingham to win the Womens Tumbling World Cup Final. Congratulations to all the Acrobats and Tumblers on a great performance at the Bondarev Cup and we look forward to another great year of International acrobatics in 2007. Full results from the 2006 Bondarev Cup are as follows:- Men's Tumbling Women's Tumbling Women's Pairs Women's Groups Men's Pairs Men's Groups Mixed Pairs Don’t forget you can see the GB Acrobats plus top Acrobats from Russia, Poland, France, Hungary, Portugal and Lithuania at the Yate International in Great Britain on February 24th and 25th. Top acrobats from Spelthorne, Wakefield, Deerness, Bromley Valley, King Edmund, Harefield and Oxford will compete including the debut performances of some exciting new partnerships. Gymnastics Online will be there to bring you all the action and news, but you can get your tickets right now to see top Acrobatics live in Bristol next month! Click here for more details plus the latest news plus ticket details for the Yate Invitational.
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January 25th - All-session ticket packages for 2007 Visa Championships go on sale Jan. 29! Nastia Liukin, Bela Karoyli and Alexander Armatev to visit Local Gym Clubs in San Jose as tickets go on Sale! USA Gymnastics announced today that all-session ticket packages for the 2007 Visa Championships, scheduled for Aug. 15-18 in San Jose, Calif. will go on sale Monday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m. All-Session Men's and Women's Artistic Packages and All-Session Rhythmic/Acrobatic Gymnastics Packages for the national gymnastics championships will be available at the HP Pavilion at San Jose Ticket Office; charge by phone at (408) 998-TIXS; online at www.ticketmaster.com; or through participating gymnastics clubs in the Bay Area. Legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and 2006 U.S. all-around champions Nastia Liukin, who is also the 2005 world balance beam and uneven bars champion, and Alexander Artemev, who won the 2006 world pommel horse bronze medal, are visiting San Jose, Calif., Jan. 29, for the kickoff event for the 2007 Visa Championships. They will also be visiting gymnastics clubs in the area to speak with local gymnasts.
Content removed - Ken Summerfield 25th August, 2008 The national champions for men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics are determined at the Visa Championships. Artistic gymnastics will be held at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, and rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics are set for the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. All-session packages for artistic gymnastics range from $95 to $399, and include tickets to all seven of the men’s and women’s junior and senior sessions. For rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics, all-session tickets are $45. Visa is the only card accepted for the Visa Championships and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. “The entire gymnastics community is looking forward to coming to San Jose for the Visa Championships,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “San Jose and the entire Bay Area have a strong sports reputation, and this is a great opportunity to see the USA’s top gymnastics stars vie for the coveted national title.” In 2006, Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas/WOGA, and Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo./Team Chevron, joined an impressive list of gymnasts who have earned the coveted title of U.S. all-around champion. Some of the sport’s biggest names are former all-around champions, including Carly Patterson, Courtney Kupets, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Kim Zmeskal and Mary Lou Retton for the women and Paul Hamm, Blaine Wilson, John Roethlisberger, Mitch Gaylord, Peter Vidmar and Bart Conner for the men. Content removed - Ken Summerfield 25th August, 2008 "The Visa Championships are a proving ground for the best gymnasts in the country," said Michael Lynch, senior vice president, Visa USA. "Over the years it has been a showcase event for America's athletes as they prepare for the Olympic Games. We're proud to have USA Gymnastics and the Visa Championships at the heart of our support for the U.S. Olympic Team.” At the HP Pavilion at San Jose, the artistic gymnastics competition schedule for the Visa Championships is: Wednesday, Aug. 15 – 1 p.m., junior men’s all-around and event finals, and 7 p.m., senior men’s first day of competition; Thursday, Aug. 16 – 1 p.m., junior women’s first day of competition, and 7 p.m., senior women’s first day of competition; Friday, Aug. 17 – 7 p.m., senior men’s second and final day of competition; and Saturday, Aug. 18 – 1 p.m., junior women’s second and final day of competition, and 6 p.m., senior women’s second and final day of competition. The schedule for rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center is: Thursday, Aug. 16 – 9:30 a.m., junior rhythmic gymnastics all-around competition, and 2:30 p.m., senior rhythmic all-around competition; Friday, Aug. 17 – 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., acrobatic gymnastics; and Saturday, Aug. 18 – 10 a.m., rhythmic gymnastics (individual event) and acrobatic gymnastics finals. Content removed - Ken Summerfield 25th August, 2008 |
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17th January - Top U.S. gymnasts compete in LA Lights 2007 International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament 2006 U.S. rhythmic gymnastics all-around champion Lisa Wang of Buffalo Grove, Ill., and U.S. national team members Julie Zetlin of Bethesda, Md., and Ava Gehringer of Evanston, Ill., are competing in the LA Lights 2007 International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament, Jan. 19-21, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City, Calif. Also, Belarus’ Inna Zhukova, a two-time world team and ball bronze medalist, is returning to defend her all-around title for the tournament. Also competing are Rachel Girma of Los Angeles, and Delaney Lonergan of Venice, Calif., both members of the U.S. junior national team who train at tournament host Los Angeles School of Gymnastics. Mexico’s Cynthia Valdez, the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships all-around champion, is also in the field. In addition to the United States, Belarus and Mexico, other countries represented in the LA Lights International Rhythmic Tournament include Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia and Ukraine. The tournament features more than 400 participants, competing in levels four to elite. The elite rope and hoop individual events begin at 7:30 p.m. PT on Jan. 20, while the elite clubs and ribbon competitions are on Jan. 21, starting at 3:30 p.m. PT. Medals will be awarded in the four individual events and the all-around champion will be determined based on the combined results of the individual events. In addition to her 2006 U.S. all-around title, Wang is a two-time national champion in the ball and ribbon. She also won the clubs title at the 2005 Visa Championships. Wang was a member of the U.S. Pan American Championships Team that won a gold medal in 2005. The reigning U.S. rope and clubs champion, Zetlin won all four individual events (rope, hoop, clubs and ribbon) in the junior division at the 2005 Visa Championships. She was a member of the U.S. Team that won a gold medal at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships. Gehringer placed third in the all-around and ball at the 2006 Visa Championships. A 2004 Olympian, Zhukova claimed bronze medals in the team and ball events at the 2003 and 2005 World Championships. She was second in ball at the 2006 World Cup Final in Mie, Japan. At the World Cup in Irkutsk, Siberia, she was second in ball and was third in clubs, ribbon and rope. Zhukova won the ball event at the World Cup stop in Portimao, Portugal, where she was third in both clubs and rope. At the 2005 European Championships, she was third in both ball and ribbon. At the 2003 World Championships, Zhukova earned bronze medals in ball and team after finishing second in ribbon at the European Championships earlier that year. At the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships, Valdez won the all-around, rope and ball titles, as well as tied for the clubs crown. She won the gold medal in ball, clubs and rope at the 2005 Pan Am Championships, where she was also second in ribbon. The LA Lights Invitational Tournament is hosted by the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics and is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For more information, log on to www.lagymnastics.com/la_lights_2007.htm |
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25th January - YATE ACOBATICS INTERNATIONAL LATEST NEWS! The annual Bristol Invitational Acrobatics Competition at Yate near Bristol on February 24th and 25th will feature a superb line-up as all the top British Acrobatics Clubs will go head to head with National Teams from France and Lithuania, plus top acrobats from Russia, Hungary, Poland and Portugal! It will feature Senior and Junior FIG Pairs and Groups, plus the 11-16 Age Group competition. Many of the new World and European Champions from the 2006 Championships in Portugal and Poland will take part, giving British fans a fantastic opportunity to see some of the best Acrobats in the World! Many of the GB International Acrobats who performed superbly at the World and European Championships will also be competing with some exciting new routines and elements as they begin their preparation for the 2007 British Championships. After recent retirements amongst the British Team, the Event will also feature exciting new partnerships making their debuts at the Yate Invitational, including the new Senior Womens Pair of Liz Oliver and Katie Axten, and new Senior Womens Group of Victoria Lamkin, Casey Morrison and Emily Grove from Spelthorne.
The British Clubs provisionally confirmed so far include:- Spelthorne King Edmund Wakefield Bromley Valley Deerness Valley Harefield Oxford South Tyneside Southampton Stafford The Event will also include the following International entries:- Russia 6 gymnast’s Kurgan Siberia Germany 2 gymnasts TSGV Albershausen France 5 gymnast’s National Team Poland 11 gymnasts Lithuania 5 gymnast’s National Team Hungary 2 gymnasts Hevesi DSE Portugal 2 gymnasts Ireland 13 gymnast’s Carlow Cork and Wexford
Ticket Prices: Adults £5.00 Children/Concessions £3.00 Family Ticket £13.50 (2 adults 2 children) The Event is hosted by the highly successful King Edmund Acrobatics Club and is Grant Funded by Yate Town Council. For further information please visit the King Edmund Site at www.acrogymnastics.co.uk or call Mark Thorne on 01454 882276 or from outside the UK +44 1454 882276 We will also will be at the Yate International competition to bring you all the news, results and great photos, and we will publish a full preview of the Event here on Gymnastics Online plus all the latest news! CLICK HERE TO SEE 2 PAGES OF PHOTOS FROM THE 2006 YATE INVITATIONAL! |
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25th January - 2007 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS SPORTS ACROBATICS DETAILS ANNOUNCED! British Gymnastics have announced the selection policies for the European Acrobatics Championships in Senior, Junior and Age Groups. The Championships will be held in Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands from 21st - 28th October 2007. The selection policies for the British Teams for both events have been agreed by the Technical Committee and are now available to download.
Great photos of some of the GB Acrobats at the European Team Championships and European Age Group Games from Cherry-Anne Ballantyne. Love Acrobatics? Don’t miss these fantastic photo specials from Worlds, Europeans and Age Group Championships PLUS The Flanders Cup, British Championships & The Freedom Cup from the USA! 2006 European Age Groups British Trials special, 16 pages from Lilleshall! 2006 World Acrobatics Championships, Coimbra - 4 page photo special 2006 International Age Groups Championships, Coimbra - 22 page photo special from the IAGC! 2006 British Tournament 17 page photo special! 2006 British Championships - 6 page special 2006 Flanders Cup - 6 page special |
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4th February - DON’T MISS CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AT TONIGHT’S SUPER BOWL! Gym fans around the World will be tuning into a different sport tonight as the incredible Cirque du Soleil will perform a special one off show at the NFL Super Bowl ! At precisely 5.50pm USA time, sixty professional performers and over 250 students will invade the stadium in a fantastic high-energy performance of music, dance, gymnastics and circus arts as part of the Super Bowl Opening Ceremony. The performance will include Daniel Cola, Acrobatic Coach at Cirque du Soleil and will be watched by a huge global audience. The 10 most watched programmes in U.S. TV history are all Super Bowls, and an incredible 140 million viewers in the USA are expected to watch the game live in the 70,000 seat Dolphin Stadium in Miami as the Chicago Bears v Indianapolis Colts. The half time entertainment is always a huge attraction and this year includes performances from Prince and Beyonce! The show airs on CBS in the USA and will also be on Sky Sports 1 HD1 and ITV in the U.K. The coverage in the U.K. begins at 10pm until 3am with match kick off at 11.25pm UK time. Don’t miss this chance to see Cirque Du Soleil perform in front of 70,000 football fans and billions on T.V. around the World! And U.K. gym fans don’t miss your last chance to see Cirque Du Soleil live in London as they perform Alegria at the Royal Albert Hall. The show opened on January 5th to sell out audiences and the final U.K. performance will be next Sunday February 11th! Book your tickets now! Cirque du Soleil Ticket line: Royal Albert Hall Box Office: 0207 838 3122 USA Visitors Don’t miss all your favourite Cirque Du Soleil DVDs in our great new USA Gym Store now! And UK and Europe order all your favourites from our U.K. Gym Store click here now! |
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6th February - Germany’s Hambuechen highlights international field for 2007 Tyson American Cup Six world medalists, five Olympians from 14 countries set to join U.S. athletes The 2006 all-around and vault world bronze-medalist Fabian Hambuechen of Germany highlights the international field of world-class gymnasts who have accepted invitations to compete in the 2007 Tyson American Cup at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. 2006 women’s team world gold-medalist Zhou Zhuoru of China is also on this year’s international roster that includes six 2006 world medalists and five 2004 Olympians. In addition to Hambuechen and Zhou, the other 2006 world medalists are: Canada -- Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, balance beam bronze medalist; Japan -- Takuya Nakase, men’s team bronze medalist; Russia – Maxim Devyatovsky, men’s team silver-medalist, and Kristina Pravdina, women’s team bronze medalist. The 2004 Olympians in the field are Canada’s Adam Wong, Japan’s Kyoko Oshima, Puerto Rico’s Luis Vargas, Devyatovsky and Hambuechen. “This is truly a world-class lineup for the Tyson American Cup,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “This competition will be an outstanding test for all of the participating athletes, who hail from some of the top gymnastics countries in the world. It promises to be an exciting competition for both the men and women.” These athletes join the USA’s Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla., and Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo., who are the U.S. gymnasts who have already been invited to compete at the Tyson American Cup. Bieger won silver medals at the 2006 World Championships in the team, all-around and floor exercise events, the most by any U.S. athlete. Artemev placed third in the pommel horse at the 2006 World Championships, becoming the first U.S. gymnast to earn a world pommel horse medal since 1979. The United States will enter a total of eight athletes, four men and four women. The remainder of the U.S. athletes will be named closer to the event. Representing 14 countries, this year’s international field includes the following: Women Daria Joura, Australia Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Canada Zhou Zhuoru, China Natalia Sanchez, Colombia Marie-Sophie Hindermann, Germany Kyoko Oshima, Japan Elsa Garcia, Mexico Andreea Grigore, Romania Kristina Pravdina, Russia Ariella Kaeslin, Switzerland Dariya Zgoba, Ukraine Men Dimitri Savitski, Belarus Adam Wong, Canada Lu Bo, China Raphael Wignanitz, France Fabian Hambuechen, Germany Takuya Nakase, Japan Daniel Corral, Mexico Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico Flavius Koczi, Romania Maxim Devyatovsky, Russia Mykola Kuksenkov, Ukraine Seven gymnasts are making at least their second appearance in this prestigious event: China’s Lu Bo and Zhou; Japan’s Kyoko Oshima; Mexico’s Elsa Garcia; Vargas; Hopfner-Hibbs; and Hambuechen. On sale now, tickets are $50, $35 and $19.50 and are subject to applicable fees. Tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster and its outlets; by phone at (904) 353-3309; online at www.ticketmaster.com; at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena box office; or through participating gymnastics clubs in the Jacksonville area. The Tyson American Cup held on March 3 at 11:30 a.m. will feature the all-around format, with eight men and eight women in the finals. In addition to his world bronze medals in 2006, Hambuechen won the floor exercise at the World Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, placed second on the horizontal bar at the World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, and finished fifth at the Tyson American Cup. In 2005, he won the high bar at the European Championships. A 2004 Olympian, his highest finish at the Olympic Games was seventh on the high bar. Hambuechen returns to compete in his third straight Tyson American Cup. Zhou claimed a team gold medal and placed 12th in the all-around at the 2006 World Championships. She won the all-around title at the 2006 Asian Championships, where China also won the team title. At the 2006 Asian Games, Zhou was second in the all-around and was a member of the Chinese women’s team that placed first. In 2005, she won the uneven bars title at the World Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, and was second on the balance beam at the World Cup in Glasgow, Scotland. At the 2006 World Championships, Devyatovsky finished second in the team competition as a member of the Russian men’s team and placed fifth in the all-around. The Russian team won the team title at the 2006 European Championships. Nakase was a member of the Japanese men’s team that earned the bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships, where he finished sixth in the all-around. He was third in the all-around at the 2006 NHK Cup. In 2006, Hopfner-Hibbs placed third on the balance beam at the World Championships and won bronze medals at the Pacific Alliance Championships in the team, balance beam and floor exercise events. Her first American Cup was in 2005. The Tyson American Cup will be televised live on NBC Sports at 1 p.m. ET. Some of the sport’s biggest names are former American Cup all-around gold medalists, including: men -- Jason Gatson, Blaine Wilson, John Roethlisberger, Vitaly Scherbo (Belarus), Tim Daggett, Peter Vidmar, Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan), Kurt Thomas and Bart Conner; and women -- Carly Patterson, Elena Zamolodchikova (Russia), Kerri Strug, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Kim Zmeskal, Kristie Phillips, Mary Lou Retton, Julianne McNamara, Stella Zakarova (USSR) and Nadia Comaneci (Romania). At last year’s event, Americans Jonathan Horton of Houston and Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, each earned the title of 2006 American Cup champion. The city of Jacksonville is no stranger to the sport of gymnastics as the old Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena hosted the 1985 U.S. Championships and the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials. The American Cup was first held in 1976. Past sites include: New York City (1976-80, 1982-84, 2004); Ft. Worth, Texas (1981, 1996-98); Indianapolis, Ind. (1985); Fairfax, Va. (1986-90, 2003); Orlando, Fla. (1991-94, 2000-02); Seattle, Wash. (1995); St. Petersburg, Fla. (1999); Uniondale, N.Y. (2005); and Philadelphia (2006). |
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