For more information, contact:
The St. Louis Sports Commission
314-345-5121
bshulman@stlsports.org

ST. LOUIS AWARDED 2012 USA GYMNASTICS
VISA CHAMPIONSHIPS

NATION'S TOP GYMNASTS TO COMPETE IN GATEWAY CITY
ON THE ROAD TO LONDON OLYMPICS

         ST. LOUIS - Aug. 5, 2010 - USA Gymnastics has awarded the 2012 Visa Championships to St. Louis.  The national governing body’s premier annual championships will take place at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University June 7-10, 2012.  The St. Louis Sports Commission will serve as the host organization for the four-day competition.  It partnered with Global Spectrum, managers of Chaifetz Arena to produce the region’s bid for the event.

USA Gymnastics’ national champions and national teams are determined annually at the Visa Championships.  The competition is televised nationally on NBC Sports and Universal Sports.  St. Louis and the Sports Commission previously hosted the event in 2000 when it preceded the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  The championships played a role in determining the U.S. Olympic team that year.  In 2012, St. Louisans will again have a chance to see America’s best gymnasts compete on the road to the Summer Games.  The 2012 Visa Championships will lead into the U.S. Olympic Trials and the London Olympics.

“As an organization dedicated to celebrating St. Louis’ Olympic legacy, we’re honored to have the opportunity to host the nation’s top gymnasts prior to the 2012 Games in London,” said Sports Commission President Frank Viverito.  “We have great memories of the 2000 national championships held in St. Louis, and we’re thrilled to partner with USA Gymnastics once again.  We look forward to working with our colleagues at Chaifetz Arena to deliver an exceptional event to help America’s team in 2012.”

Global Spectrum's Jim Wynkoop, general manager of Chaifetz Arena said, “We are thrilled about the Visa Championships returning to St. Louis and the Chaifetz Arena.  Global Spectrum has worked with USA Gymnastics on past Championships and we feel confident about our ability to draw on those experiences to help make the 2012 Visa Championships a huge success.”

USA Gymnastics is coming off of one its most successful Olympic cycles.  At the 2008 Games in Beijing, Team USA won its most medals in gymnastics since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.  The medal tally of 10 – two gold, six silver and two bronze – is the most earned by the United States in a non-boycotted Olympic Games.  Highlights included Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson finishing one-two in the all-around competition, Johnson winning gold on the balance beam, and the men’s gymnastics squad capturing the team bronze medal.

“USA Gymnastics is excited to bring the Visa Championships back to St. Louis,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.  “The St. Louis Sports Commission and the city were excellent hosts and partners in 2000, and we look forward to working with them again.  We are confident that St. Louis will be the perfect stage to showcase our top athletes on the road to London in 2012.”

The awarding of the Visa Championships adds to an already busy St. Louis sports calendar in the first half of 2012.  The region has been selected to host the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional in March.  The Wrestling Championships will take place at Scottrade Center.  The Regional will be at the Edward Jones Dome.

Tickets for the 2012 Visa Championships are expected to go on sale in 2011.  The 2010 championships take place next week (Aug. 10-14) in Hartford, Conn.  For more information, log on to
www.usa-gymnastics.org.  

The St. Louis Sports Commission is the privately funded nonprofit organization that benefits St. Louis through sports.

Its mission is to make the St. Louis region a better place to live, visit, work and play through sports.

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