good news – Acrobatic Gymnastics

This is rare.

An article in the mainstream American media highlighting the excellent club in Livermore, California — the West Coast Training Center — that produces so many of the top Acrobatic gymnasts in the States.

… In acrobatic gymnastics, the gymnasts help each other perform balance and “flight skills” — or dynamics — as opposed to traditional gymnastics, which uses balance beams and other inanimate structures. The sport, which has been at a competitive level in the U.S. for more than 30 years, didn’t come under the USA Gymnastics umbrella until 2002, according to Marie Annonson, head coach and owner of West Coast Training Center.

Acro combines dance, gymnastics and acrobatic and tumbling skills. Performers have three different routines: “balance,” where the partners will hold positions for three seconds; “dynamic,” which involves flipping and throwing the person who is the “top;” and “combined,” which is performed only at the “elite” level and combines dynamic and balance routines. …

Awesome acros — Livermore center trains rare breed of extra-agile athletes

West Coast Training Center website

Acro is a fantastic sport. What a shame it has not caught on bigger in North America. In fact, worldwide the discipline is shrinking, not growing.

That’s disappointing for Cirque du Soleil who hires Acrobatic gymnasts for almost every show.