News Archive
Nani's Countdown to the olympics
Nani Vercruyssen (20 yrs) is in the final countdown to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. One woman will represent the US in trampoline gymnastics and she is among the five on the short list to go. She has three Olympic Trials to qualify for the Olympian and alternate spots. The five on the US women’s team who are battling for the Olympic spot are depicted in the USA-Gymnastics Behind The Team Segment called The Girls of Trampoline: http://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=9458&prog=tt released 2012 Feb 08.
Please view the segment and support Nani and the US Olympic Committee in whatever ways you can to get the first gymnast from Hawaii to the Olympics. We hope she will inspire more from Hawaii to pursue an Olympic dream.
After winning the Japan Double Mini-Trampoline National Championships and training at the Japan Olympic Training Center last month Nani is currently at the USAG National Training Center in Houston (Bela Karolyi’s Ranch) for training with others on the US National Team. However, she will be back in Honolulu to perform in the finals of a local competition (9th Paradise Friendship Meet) Saturday, February 18th, 7-8:30p at Hawaii Academy. There is a $2 entry fee for spectators and all the money collected goes to defray travel costs for Vercruyssen and teammate Zac Ceroli to attend Olympic Trials competitions in March, May, and June. Please watch her perform and encourage her to train hard to represent Hawaii (and the US) in London this summer.
For additional information contact Dr Donna Mah, mah@hawaii.edu, 842.5642.
P.S. Vercruyssen was also named HI-Five Athlete of the Week which will appear soon at http://www.k5thehometeam.com/category/221865/hi-five-athlete.
Hawaii Gymnasts win Japan National Championships
Click to enlarge images
By special invitation of the Japan Trampoline Association (JTA) offered to the Hawaii Trampoline Association, three Hawaii gymnasts competed in the Japan Double Mini-Trampoline National Championships in Tokyo last weekend. Each qualified to the national level in Japan by scores obtained in competitions held in Hawaii with Japanese gymnasts and judges. Each performed skills of greater difficulty than any other competitor in their age group.
Nani Vercruyssen (20 year old, UH-KCC sophomore) won the 17+ age group and the grand championship over all females. She performed more somersaults in her passes than all females and nearly all males in the competition. This was her seventh national championship title in Japan.
Kayttie Nakamura (10 year old, Hokulani 4th grader) won the female 10 and under age group. This was her first time competing at a national championship and her first time in Japan.
Alexander Paul (10 year old, Moanalua 4th grader) nearly won his age group but after over-rotating a double somersault he placed fourth in the male 10 and under age group. This was also his first time in Japan.
All three players train at Hawaii Academy in Kalihi and are coached by Drs Max Vercruyssen and Donna Mah (see http://www.hawaiiacademy.com).
Vercruyssen and her coach are remaining in Japan this week as guests of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) and JTA to train with trampoline Olympians and World Champions at their National Training Center (NTC; located in the Japan Institute for Sport Sciences in Tokyo; http://naash.go.jp/jiss-en/). Top players all over the world are preparing for the London Olympics in six months and each national training center is focusing on individual needs for optimal performances. Japan has generously provided resources to Vercruyssen as though she were Japanese, much because of Hawaii being a close neighbor in the Pacific and because of her annually training and competing with Japan national teams her entire career.