Gymnastics for All held the discipline's first training camp at the National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas, Sept. 5-8. The four-day camp was designed to introduce and implement the new rules for Power TeamGym, Performance Gym, and the newly formed Team Acrobatics and Tumbling.

The camp held over 70 participants including 33 athletes from 10 gyms participating in tumbling, jump techniques, and acrobatics. In addition to the athletes, many coaches and judges were offered educational opportunities in an attempt to have all interpretation of rules be consistent from coast to coast.

The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) had seven of the ten college programs represented, with 12 coaches and one official participating in Tumbling and Acro techniques. NCATA coaches also provided information concerning opportunities for women in college athletics, including scholarship possibilities.

Team Acrobatics and Tumbling is a new program comprised of two levels, Junior and Senior, developed this year in an attempt to expand opportunities for our athletes to participate in Gymnastics for All. Both levels are designed to follow a modified version of the NCATA rules.

Gymnastics for All offers many opportunities for gymnasts to participate in both competitive and performance events, including the World Gymnaestrada and the Gym for Life challenge, the two single largest Gymnastics events in the world.

The next Gymnastics for All Training camp is tentatively planned for August 21-24, 2014, and is expected to draw many more athletes due to the success of this year's camp. Be prepared to sign up early!

The new rules for Power TeamGym, PerformanceGym as well as Team Acro and Tumbling will soon be available on the USA Gymnastics website.

All questions and comments concerning GfA should be directed to:

Ron Jacobson
Director of Program Development
USA Gymnastics
rjacobson@usagym.org