Orlando, Florida
In the Men’s artistic competition, we had 8 level 1 gymnasts, 7 level II gymnasts and 4 level 3 gymnasts competing, for a total of 19 men. In the women’s artistic competition, we had 9 level I, 19 level II, 11 level III and 6 level IV gymnasts, for a total of 45 women. Monday was podium training, Tuesday was preliminary competition in individual events and all around awards for the men and women.
Wednesday and Thursday were finals in the individual events with women doing 2 events daily and men doing 3 events daily. On Friday, we had a rhythmic workshop, Team Gym competition, and a Gym Show open for everyone.
Our facility was in The ESPN NE arena (one of Mickey’s ears!) and the awards were in one of the quadrants. Our equipment was provided by Lightning City Gymnastics.
Our judges came from throughout the United States with Chris Jackson as our head referee for the women and George Krenk as head referee for the men. Cindy Bickman was the Technical Delegate and Kate Hickie was the Competition Director. For the first time, we had a Special Olympian as an assistant Technical Delegate. We also had 2 Special Olympians help with the field of play.
All of the competitions were given information through the program “Smart Sheets” and there was a USA Games App for your phone where everyone could receive the latest updates. The Kelly family brought their Pro Score program to run the meet on & flash the scores. It was fantastic!
The games were a showcase for cooperation, excellent sportsmanship, and positive attitudes. The volunteers were, as usual, helpful in every way. Coaches, officials, and the committee stepped up to help anyone who needed help.