Gymnastics is an exciting and thrilling sport. Watching the best gymnasts compete against one another in national and international events can be a lot of fun!
And if you’re not able to watch it live, there are plenty of opportunities to catch those same amazing athletes on TV every year.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some annual gymnastics events that you can view on television.
The World Championships
The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships is the most popular international gymnastics event next to the Olympics. Every year, except when the Summer Olympics is on, the best male and female gymnasts in the world compete for medals and glory.
The latest World Championships concluded in Kitakyushu, Japan, on October 24, 2021. It continued as scheduled despite the Tokyo 2020 Olympics being held the same year. Our very own Stephen Nedoroscik won gold in the men’s pommel horse, while Brody Malone took home the bronze in the men’s horizontal bar. Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello grabbed gold and silver respectively in the individual all-around; Leanne also bagged the bronze for the floor exercise.
The U.S. Gymnastics Championships
To join the World Championships and the Summer Olympics, American gymnasts need to prove that they deserve the honor of representing the country. They do that by competing in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
The record for most all-around championships is currently held by Sam Mikulak for the men’s and Simone Biles for the women’s. Sam has six titles to his belt, while Simone has seven.
Simone won her most recent title in Fort Worth, TX, last June 3-6, 2021. Sam, on the other hand, passed his throne this year to Brody Malone.
The Nastia Liukin Cup
A more recent addition to the list of annual gymnastics events on TV is The Nastia Liukin Cup. Named after Olympic gold medalist and NBC analyst Nastia Liukin, the event serves as a debuting stage for pre-elite female gymnasts.
Eligible Level 10 female gymnasts from all over the country are invited to participate in a series of competitions before qualifying for the main event. This makes The Nastia Liukin Cup an opportunity to glimpse the future of American women’s gymnastics.
Notable gymnasts who have debuted at the Cup include Gabby Douglas, Morgan Hurd, Maggie Nichols, and MyKayla Skinner.
The Winter Cup
The Winter Cup is yet another of these annual gymnastics events to watch out for. It is a qualifying event for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Also, it often predicts who will emerge as the top American gymnast for the year.
In previous years, the Winter Cup was exclusively a stage for male gymnasts at the senior level. This changed in 2021, however, when it began featuring senior and junior women as well.
Jordan Chiles and Ella Kate Parker became the first women, in the seniors and juniors respectively, to win the all-around in this meet. Cameron Bock got the men’s all-around gold.
The U.S. Classic
The U.S. Classic is yet another stage for American female elite gymnasts to prove that they deserve a spot in the national team for the year’s World Championships or the Summer Olympics. The event’s name changes depending on the sponsor company. Since 2018, the meet has been called the GK U.S. Classic, with GK Elite Sportswear backing it.
The 2021 iteration of the meet saw Simone Biles making history, not just for winning the all-around but also for debuting her now-famous Yurchenko double pike vault. It was the first time that a woman gymnast completed this skill in competition.
These are just a handful of the annual gymnastics events you can watch on TV. And if your child wants to experience what it’s like to be a gymnast, you can sign them up for OMEGA’s recreational program.
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