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10 Women Invited to the final World Championships Team Selection Camp

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 14, 2009 – 2009 U.S. all-around champion Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and her 2008 Olympic team silver-medal teammates Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind., are among the 10 women invited to the final selection camp for the 2009 World Championships, Oct. 13-18, in London, England. The camp is scheduled for Sept. 30- Oct. 4 at the U.S. Women’s National Training Center in Huntsville, Texas.

Four gymnasts will be named to the U.S. Women’s Team for the 2009 World Championships, which features competition in the all-around and individual events, along with two or three non-traveling alternates. The 10 were invited back following the first selection camp, which concluded this past weekend.

The gymnasts returning to the second and final selection camp are listed below.

* Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., Bieger International Gymnastics
* Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics
* Mackenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., Naperville Gymnastics Club
* Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics
* Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., Hill's Gymnastics
* Chellsie Memmel, West Allis, Wis., M&M Gymnastics
* Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., Sharp's Gymnastics
* Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., Sharp's Gymnastics
* Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Gymnastics
* Kayla Williams, Nitro, W.V., Gym Nest Inc.

Copyright © USA Gymnastics.

Here's a laugh to get the week started!

Nastia's Last Routine...for now!

Nastia Liukin Pulls out of World Championships

Olympic champion Nastia Liukin ran out of time.

Liukin withdrew her name from consideration for the world gymnastics championships Monday, saying she hasn't had enough time to train. Liukin, only the third U.S. woman to win the Olympic title, has been in high demand for appearances, photo shoots and commercial opportunities since she left Beijing, but the schedule wreaked havoc on her training.

The first of two training camps that will be used to choose the U.S. women's team is next week, and worlds are Oct. 13-18 in London. There is no team competition at this year's worlds, only the all-around and individual events.

"I didn't want to go out there and compete and represent Team USA if I wasn't at my best," Liukin said. "Physically, I'm not capable of doing it because I didn't have enough time to prepare."

While Liukin said she is going to take a break from the sport -- "I hope to go on vacation, hopefully on an island somewhere" -- she insists she is not retiring.

She plans to return to the gym, and still hopes to compete at the London Olympics in 2012. She'd also like to compete at another world championships. Liukin has won nine medals at worlds, tying her with Shannon Miller for most by a U.S. gymnast.

"This decision has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of my career. It's based on just this year, the world championships," Liukin said. "I really feel like it was necessary just because I haven't really had much time off. I wasn't always in the gym, but I was always on the go.

"I'm going to take some time off, regroup, get ready for the next few years and decide what the plan is from here on out."

Making this decision was stressful, Liukin said, because she didn't want to let anyone down. Though there's no team competition at worlds, these championships set the tone for the leadup to the next Olympics and give an early indication of who are the teams and gymnasts to watch.

The Americans served notice they had rebounded from their disappointing showing in Sydney by winning two of the four event titles at the 2002 world championships. Chellsie Memmel and Liukin were 1-2 in the all-around in 2005, and the Americans went on to collect seven more medals in the event finals. Liukin took gold on beam and bars.

Liukin said she talked with her parents -- father Valeri is her coach -- over the weekend, and spent two days trying to track down women's national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, who is in Romania on vacation. When she finally got ahold of Karolyi on Monday morning, Liukin said it was one of the hardest conversations she's ever had.

"She definitely tried to convince me to come to camp and give it one more shot," Liukin said. "I could tell it was a little hard for her to take, but it hasn't been easy. At same time, this is the right decision for me at this time."

Liukin's decision will give Karolyi some flexibility in selecting a team for worlds. Countries can send only four gymnasts, and are limited to two gymnasts per event. Liukin would have done, at most, balance beam and uneven bars.

"We appreciate her making a decision that is right for her, as well as putting the goals of her teammates ahead of her own," Karolyi said. "We look forward to working with Nastia as she returns to competitive gymnastics when she is ready."

Liukin's announcement wasn't a complete surprise.

She's crisscrossed the country since winning gold in Beijing, doing everything from appearing at Fashion Week to picking up the female athlete of the year award at the ESPYs. She's loved all the experiences, but gymnastics is not a sport that can be done on a part-time basis.

It takes hundreds of repetitions to perfect a routine -- even routines she was doing with ease just last summer. Liukin would feel as if she was making progress after a few days at home, only to leave for a few days and then feel as if she had to start the whole process over again when she returned.

"It was very frustrating," she said.

Liukin curtailed her schedule a few months ago so she could compete at the U.S. championships, which were in her hometown of Dallas. She did one event, finishing fourth on beam, but the solid yet imperfect performance showed she wasn't back to top level yet.

And that's not good enough.

As the Olympic champion, the expectations are higher for Liukin. She not only accepts that, she expects even more of herself. If she's not ready to contend for a gold medal, then she's not ready to compete.

"I've set my standards too high," she said. "I don't want to just go out there and compete."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Great News for NCAA Gymnastics!

National Gymnastics Foundation, USA Gymnastics create Collegiate Gymnastics Developmental Fund
08/17/2009

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Aug. 12, 2009 – The National Gymnastics Foundation, in partnership with USA Gymnastics, is creating a Collegiate Gymnastics Developmental Fund. The fund’s goal is to provide solutions to support collegiate programs in peril and offer educational and business training for coaches and program administrators to assist them in building financially secure programs. The Collegiate Gymnastics Developmental Fund complements the initiatives USA Gymnastics already has in place to support collegiate gymnastics.

“Collegiate gymnastics is a vital part of the gymnastics fabric in the United States,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “This effort will work to reinforce the importance of our existing NCAA programs and provide a new level of support to the coaches and athletes involved. The fund is intended to create a mechanism in partnership with the various coaches associations and schools that helps collegiate gymnastics programs enhance their presence in communities nationwide. We look forward to working with the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women, College Gymnastics Association for men’s gymnastics and the various gymnastics programs as we move forward. ”

In addition to the Collegiate Developmental Fund, the National Gymnastics Foundation already has scholarship programs in place for men’s collegiate gymnastics and trampoline athletes that are endowed through donations and fees. USA Gymnastics organizes national championships for both men’s and women’s gymnastics to supplement the NCAA National Gymnastics Championships. USA Gymnastics has taken an increasingly proactive role in supporting the collegiate arm of gymnastics; earlier this year it hosted a summit to discuss the issues facing collegiate gymnastics and assisted in a fundraising effort for Cal State Fullerton women’s gymnastics team.

The Collegiate Developmental Fund (CDF) will be supported through public and private donations, as well as through some existing funds in the National Gymnastics Foundation. The NGF has dedicated funds valued at $100,000 to seed the CDF.

“The Foundation is still working out the details for the fund,” said Bob Wood, chair of the National Gymnastics Foundation. “No grants will be issued until the guidelines and parameters for funding and distribution are solidified. We are excited about the opportunities the Fund will present, and we hope the gymnastics community will band together to build a solid endowment for this effort.”

"This is a huge step forward," commented Mike Lorenzen, president of NACGC/W. "We are very excited about the opportunity to work with USA Gymnastics and the National Gymnastics Foundation to identify solutions to maintain and develop new college programs."

“It is important for us to work together to sustain NCAA gymnastics as an important goal for all of our athletes,” said Mike Burns, president of the College Gymnastics Association for men’s gymnastics. “USA Gymnastics, the National Gymnastics Foundation and the entire NCAA gymnastics community are vital partners in this effort. I look forward to working on this worthwhile cause.”

The National Gymnastics Foundation was created from the energy and excitement generated by the gold-medal Olympic effort of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Proceeds totaling $1.4 million from the 1984 Olympics were used to establish the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Today, the Foundation’s assets total approximately $4.3 million.

Copyright © USA Gymnastics. All Rights Reserved.

National Championships Results- Sloan takes the title

Sloan wins women’s all-around title at ’09 Visa Championships
08/15/2009

DALLAS, Aug. 15, 2009 – 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., won her first U.S. all-around title at the 2009 Visa Championships at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Sloan, who trains at Sharp’s Gymnastics, came from behind in the last rotation win the title with a score 117.550.

“It feels great to win the Visa Championships, “said Sloan. “The first day didn’t go as planned, but today went well. I know this is the first step in the World (Championships) selection process, and now I know what I need to do.”

2008 Olympic Team alternate Ivana Hong of Lovejoy, Texas/WOGA, finished a close second in the all-around at 117.250. WOGA’s Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas, landed in third place with an all-around score of 116.600.

Kytra Hunter of Frederick, Md./Hill's Gymnastics, finished fourth in the all-around with 113.750 Sloan won both the uneven bars and floor exercise crowns with combined scores of 29.450 and 29.350, respectively. Hong won the U.S. balance beam title with a score of 30.350. Kayla Williams of Nitro, W.V./Gym Nest won vault with a score of 29.075.

In the final rotation, Sloan’s 15.000 on vault clinched the all-around title. She had the evening’s highest scores on uneven bars (14.900) and floor exercise(15.050). She posted a 14.900 on balance beam.Hong posted Saturday night’s top score on beam at 15.200. Her other scores were: vault, 15.250; uneven bars, 14.600; and floor exercise, 14.000. Bross earned highest vault score of the day at 15.300 for her double twisting Yurchenko vault. Her other scores for the night were 13.350 on bars and 14.700 on beam and floor exercise. 2008 Olympian Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind./Sharp’s Gymnastics, was second on beam with a score of 30.100.

Fellow 2008 Olympians Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, competed on the balance beam. 2008 Olympic all-around champion Liukin was named Athlete of the Year and Sportsperson of the Year and her father and coach Valeri Liukin was named Coach of the Year.

2009 Visa Championships
American Airlines Center
Dallas, TX
Aug. 15, 2009
Women’s gymnastics final results

All-Around
1. Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., 117.550
2. Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, 117.250
3. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 116.600
4. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 113.750
5. MacKenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 111.950
6. Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., 111.550
7. Kayla Williams, Nitro, W. Va., 111.350
8. Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, 111.100
9. Alaina Johnson, Tyler, Texas, 109.650
10. Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 109.400
11. Rebecca Clark, Blue Springs, Mo., 109.250
12. Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C., 108.550
13. Brooke Parker, Lorton, Va., 107.950
14. Morgan Steigerwalt, Jim Thorpe, Pa., 107.050
15. Annette Miele, Easton, Pa., 106.150
16. Georgia Dabritz, Rowley, Mass., 105.600

Vault
1. Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, 29.950
2. Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., 29.900
2. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 29.900
4. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 29.750
5. MacKenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 29.600
6. Kayla Williams, Nitro, W. Va., 29.075
7. Morgan Steigerwalt, Jim Thorpe, Pa., 28.500
7. Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 28.500
9. Annette Miele, Easton, Pa., 28.150
10. Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C., 27.850
10. Brooke Parker, Lorton, Va., 27.850
12. Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., 27.550
13. Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, 27.500
14. Alaina Johnson, Tyler, Texas, 27.300
15. Rebecca Clark, Blue Springs, Mo., 27.200
16. Georgia Dabritz, Rowley, Mass., 27.150
17. Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., 14.550

Uneven Bars
1. Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., 29.450
2. Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, 29.350
3. MacKenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 29.000
4. Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., 28.850
5. Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, 28.650
6. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 28.400
7. Georgia Dabritz, Rowley, Mass., 28.100
8. Alaina Johnson, Tyler, Texas, 27.700
9. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 27.300
9. Brooke Parker, Lorton, Va., 27.300
11. Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 27.050
12. Rebecca Clark, Blue Springs, Mo., 26.850
13. Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C., 26.600
14. Annette Miele, Easton, Pa., 25.650
15. Kayla Williams, Nitro, W. Va., 24.800
16. Morgan Steigerwalt, Jim Thorpe, Pa., 23.400

Balance Beam
1. Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, 30.350
2. Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., 30.100
3. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 29.400
4. Nastia Liukin, Parker, Texas, 29.150
5. Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., 28.850
6. Rebecca Clark, Blue Springs, Mo., 28.500
7. Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C., 28.250
8. Chellsie Memmel, West Allis, Wis., 27.900
8. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 27.900
10. Kayla Williams, Nitro, W. Va., 27.850
11. Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., 27.800
12. Morgan Steigerwalt, Jim Thorpe, Pa., 27.700
13. Alaina Johnson, Tyler, Texas, 27.100
14. Annette Miele, Easton, Pa., 26.700
15. Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 26.650
16. Brooke Parker, Lorton, Va., 26.350
17. MacKenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 26.000
18. Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, 25.800
19. Georgia Dabritz, Rowley, Mass., 25.100

Floor exercise
1. Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., 29.350
2. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 29.050
3. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 28.650
4. Kayla Williams, Nitro, W. Va., 28.500
5. Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, 28.450
6. Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, 28.300
7. Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., 28.250
8. Alaina Johnson, Tyler, Texas, 27.550
9. Morgan Steigerwalt, Jim Thorpe, Pa., 27.450
10. MacKenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 27.350
10. Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., 27.350
12. Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 27.200
13. Rebecca Clark, Blue Springs, Mo., 26.700
14. Brooke Parker, Lorton, Va., 26.450
15. Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C., 25.850
16. Annette Miele, Easton, Pa., 25.650
17. Georgia Dabritz, Rowley, Mass., 25.250

Copyright © USA Gymnastics. All rights reserved.