TWENTY gymnasts from Jamaica will be among the expected 3,000 gymnasts competing this weekend at a major US gymnastics competition, The Gasparilla Classic, in Tampa, Florida. Three senior males from Nishida’s Gymnastics and Fitness Centre will be competing at Level 10, one level below the highest, Elite. A fourth will be competing at Level nine, while five junior males will compete at Levels 4-5. Eleven females from High Flyers Gym will be competing at Levels 2-5.

The senior males wiped the floor in 2012 at the Whitlow Invitational Competition in Orlando, winning the team trophy at Level nine, repeating their previous 2011 victory at Level eight. Top gymnast Daniel Williams took first and third place all round in 2011 and 2012, respectively. If they win the team trophy at Gasparilla, they also win an equipment gift certificate for their gym from the competition’s sponsors, AA1.

They are working towards their goal of World Championships in 2015 and, from there, qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.

It is not the first overseas competition for most of those competing. These female and male gymnasts, endowed with the athletic giftedness for which Jamaica is renowned, have collected many gold, silver and bronze medals for individual events, including vault, high bar, parallel bars, beam, rings, and floor.

Sponsors include Jamaica National Building Society, CL Environmental Ltd, the Peachtree Centre for Nishida’s teams, Net-Soft Management Services, and Kitstar for High Flyers.