Dear Region 8 Professional Members:
Summer is here and a lot of Regional Events are fast approaching. Our three Training Camps and our annual “All-Star” Trip are right around the corner. The Region 8 camp system will once again begin in July and include the following camp experiences:
# 1 = “Regional Team” Training Camp – July 24-26, 2009 at Tampa Bay Turners in St. Pete, FL
Qualifiers:
Level 8 State “Regional” Team athletes (up to 64)
Level 8 Regional athletes that placed 1-3 at Regional Championships in non state team sessions.
TOP’s National Qualifiers that competed L 7 and above in the previous year.
# 2 = “R 8 Nationals Team” Training Camp – September 11-13, 2009 at Orlando Metro, FL
Qualifiers:
All L 9 and 10 athletes that qualified to the previous year’s Eastern/National Meet
All active elite athletes
# 3 = “L 8, 9, 10 Regional Training Camp” - October 2-4, 2008 at Gymnastix in Atlanta, GA
Qualifiers:
All L 8, 9 and 10 athletes that qualified to the previous year’s Regional Championship meet or above.
I am confident that the camp system will once again provide the ultimate training and learning opportunities for our athletes, coaches and judges alike to help take Region 8 to the next level. With that said however, the training camps cannot be a success without the support of our clubs. I would ask that every club that qualified athletes to Level 8-10 Regional Championships be a part of at least one of the three camps as all of the funds raised go directly back to our athletes and coaches for apparel and our “All-Star” trip. Please do your part.
An additional item that I would like to review with the Region 8 pro membership is our 2009 results as a Region at Easterns and Level 10 Nationals. While we have not yet returned to a level of prominence that we once enjoyed, R 8 is moving in the right direction. At Level 9 Easterns we had two all-around champions (Caroline Nice of Southeastern and Christina Pheil of Tampa Bay Turners) and two Championship Teams (Jr. 1 & 2). At Level 10 Nationals we had one AA Champion (Abbey Habicht of Orlando Metro) and had an improved showing in our team results.
Region 8 is also gearing up for our third annual “All-Star” team trip to be hosted on the weekend of July 30 - August 2 in Cancun, Mexico at the wonderful CAR Training Center. Region 8 would like to thank Nilson Savage of Classic Events for hosting this prestigious trip alongside of his camp. I will give everyone a full report on the team and how the trip went when we return. As a reminder, the following is how the team was selected.
The top six – L 9’s (plus ties) and the top six – L 10’s (plus ties) from Eastern/National Championships will make up the team. The team is chosen as follows:
Any athlete(s) that place first in the AA get first priority.
Any athlete(s) that place second in the AA fill any remaining spots.
Any athlete(s) that place third in the AA fill any remaining spots.
If there are still spots available the athlete(s) with the highest AA score regardless of Age Group will make up the remainder of the team.
Due to NCAA regulations Graduating Seniors are ineligible for the trip.
Finally, I would like to thank Toni Rand and the Tim Rand Memorial Fund for paying for all of R 8’s - Level 10’s entries in to Nationals. Your generosity is truly appreciated! Also – congratulations to all of the coaches of our Eastern and National Champions from Region 8. You are truly the pride our Region.
Thanks a lot and GO Region 8 –
Brad Harris
Region 8 Junior Olympic Committee Chairman
