Acrobatics and tumbling being added to Georgetown College varsity athletics

GEORGETOWN, KY (11/07/2014)(readMedia)-- Georgetown College athletics is adding acrobatics and tumbling to its varsity program, effective with the fall, 2015, school term. It is an emerging and growing sport nationally, attracting impressive numbers of female athletes.

"This is an exciting time in athletics as we announce our second new sport in three years," said GC Director of Athletics Brian Evans. "It is one of the fastest growing female sports, behind women's lacrosse, which we recently added."

Evans noted that his analysis shows the program to be a good fit for Georgetown College, both academically and athletically.

There are usually large squads for acrobatics and tumbling – potentially 30-40 members. Current estimates are that throughout America there are over 111,000 high school participants and over 300,000 participants in All-Star/club gyms.

These are athletes that have been trained in the gymnastics skills of acrobatics and/or tumbling from a young age either in club gymnastics or all-star gyms, notes Evans. Currently their only hope at being involved in their sport in college may be in limited competition, possibly as little as once annually, he said.

Evans described the sport as having elements of gymnastics and cheerleading, but presented in a different way. Meets include two halves with three events in each half. Athletes display various skill sets during each event. A meet then culminates with a team 2 ½ minute routine.

Eleven institutions now recognize acrobatics and tumbling as a varsity sport. Currently, 156 NCAA/NAIA institutions have competitive club teams (64 in Midwest).

Evans said he believes that acrobatics and tumbling will eventually be recognized as a championship NCAA/NAIA sport because of the growing interest nationally, large squad sizes and reasonable costs.

"We couldn't be more excited to get the approval of the (Georgetown College) board of trustees to start the ball rolling on this," Evans said. "We have numerous top coaching candidates and know that our admission team is already hard at work in getting the word out to prospective students about this sport."

Students interested in acrobatics and tumbling may get more information by contacting Kimberly H. Chandler at 502-863-7057 or by email: Kimberly_Horne@GeorgetownCollege.edu. To apply for admission to Georgetown College, contact the Office of Admission at 800-788-9985 or email: admissions@georgetowncollege.edu.