Media Release from Osaka, Japan 28 August 2006

HAWAII GYMNASTS AT JAPAN COLLEGE NATIONALS

Hawaii Academy officially launched its Collegiate (Coed) Trampoline Program with a trip to Japan to compete in the 41^st All Japan Inter-College Championships (the Japanese Collegiate Nationals) in the Himawari Dome (south of Osaka), 25-27 August 2006. In response to a special invitation from the Japan Trampoline Association and the Inter-College Organizing Committee, two Hawaii gymnasts traveled to Osaka to compete in their collegiate national championships, possibly the only national championships for collegiate trampoline in the world. As the first foreigners to participate in the competition in about 40 years, Matt Moniz (19 yrs, 1^st year at Leeward Community College) and Kira Vercruyssen (19 yrs, 1^st year at Honolulu Community College) made outstanding showings. There were 172 athletes (88 males and 84 females) from 26 universities competing in three classes: C for novice (several flips in 10 bounces; DD=0.0-3.4), B for intermediate (more than five flips in 10 bounces; DD=3.5-6.9), and A for advanced (10-24 flips in 10 bounces; DD=7.0+). Both Hawaii athletes competed in the A class, among a field of some of the best in the world, with Moniz placing 21^st overall and Vercruyssen 10^th overall. In 41 years the Japan trampoline federation has evolved an outstanding collegiate trampoline gymnastics league, a great feeder system for generating Olympic athletes. Among the strongest college programs in Japan are Nippon Sports Science University (NiTaiDai), Kanazawa University, Seio University, Waseda University, Hannan University, and Bunkyo University. The overall (all classes combined) team awards went to Kanazawa for the Women and NiTaiDai for the Men. In the A Class, Kanazawa won the Women’s team title and NiTaiDai won the Men’s team title; Naomi Nishioka of Hannan won the Women’s Individual Trampoline; and Shunsuke Nagasaki of Kokushikan won the Men’s Individual Trampoline. Following the competition the athletes gathered for a unique banquet in which athletes, coaches, and even the oldest of federation officers participated in skits, dances, and songs that have been passed down generation to generation in a tradition of friendship and mutual support.

This was really an unusual international experience for us said Vercruyssen. Never before have we witness so many college athletes participating in such a well-run event. The Japan Trampoline Student Association put on the event and made time during the program to have children from the community come in for mini lessons by all the collegiate athletes. This was their way of giving back to the community. We are honored to have been a part of this and hope to return next year. And her wish has come true… things went so well that the Hawaii delegation has received formal invitation to attend the 42^nd All Japan Inter-College Championships in Akita (North of Tokyo) in August next year.

Moniz, who has traveled extensively around the world as a member of the US senior national team, said this was one of the coolest meets I’ve ever been in. The NiTaiDai traditional banquet senior’s dance was like a Hawaiian Luau dance (Matt, also a trained dancer, was coaxed into participating and did very well copying a 40+ year old ceremonial dance and chant). The top athletes are certainly world class! I want to do this again next year.

Japan and Hawaii friendships were forged at this event. Moniz and Vercruyssen will always treasure the plaques they received for being the first invited foreigners (in recent years). Many of the athletes will see each other again in the All Japan (Elite) Championships in Fukushima in October.

Background. About 40 years ago a US college team lead by Mr George Nissen, inventor of the trampoline, competed in one of the first Japan National College Championships and was so impressed he helped make trampoline an event in men’s artistic gymnastics in the NCAA (then floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vaulting, parallel bars, high bar, trampoline, and rope climb). The US had collegiate national championships that included trampoline until the 1970s when insurance companies removed the trampolines from high schools and colleges because of the injuries on backyard trampolines (NOT on sport trampolines in the schools). America led the world on trampoline until the mid 1970s and then dropped out of contention. However, since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, trampoline has been rapidly growing in the US and around the world.

Moniz and Vercruyssen are pioneers investigating the possibility of starting collegiate trampolining in the US with the first formal program in Hawaii. Men’s artistic gymnastics, including trampoline, existed as a formal sport at the University of Hawaii Manoa, with scholarships, from 1969 to 1974, and then continued for some years as a club sport. This means that for about 30 years gymnasts graduating from Hawaii high schools have had to go to mainland colleges if they wished to compete in collegiate artistic gymnastics. Well, that is no longer the case. In 2002 Hawaii seriously launched the sport of trampoline gymnastics and has since become known as a hot spot for producing outstanding athletes. In just four years Hawaii has produced 20 national championship titles and one world champion with three athletes currently on US national teams. Moniz and Vercruyssen started this winning streak as Hawaii’s first national champions back in 2002 and have since graduated from high school and are now the first two Hawaii college gymnasts to compete in a collegiate national championship. There are no organized college trampoline teams or clubs in the US, yet. Moniz and Vercruyssen went to Japan as representatives of Hawaii and USA-Gymnastics (USAG, the national governing body for all gymnastics disciplines) to investigate the feasibility of starting a collegiate program in the US as a club sport in USA-Gymnastics with hopes of eventually becoming an NCAA sport. The experience was so encouraging that Hawaii Academy has formalized its collegiate program and efforts have been initiated to begin trampoline gymnastics programs in local colleges as a club sport. Also, if a pending proposal is accepted, the first US Collegiate National Trampoline Championships could take place as early as June 2007 in Memphis as part of the US (Trampoline) Championships.

Matt Moniz (19 year old freshman at Leeward Community College, hometown = Aiea) is a US junior elite national champion and member of the US senior elite double mini-trampoline international team. He placed 7^th in the 17-18 yr old division of the 2005 International Age Group Competitions (aka Age Group World Games/Championships) and placed 3^rd in the 2006 US Championships in the senior division.

Kira Vercruyssen (19 year old freshman at Honolulu Community College, hometown = Honolulu) is a US Junior Olympics national champion who seriously injured her knee while competing in the Scandinavian Open last year in Denmark. Coming back from this injury has been difficult but in the 2006 US JO National Championships she placed 4^th on trampoline and 5^th on double mini. While still far from recovered she didn’t want to miss this opportunity to investigate college trampolining so she competed with routines of lower than usual difficulty.

History: UH Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (1969-74) was coached by head coach Jack Bonham (also the UH assistant athletics director) and assistant coach Richard Criley (still at UH in the Agriculture Dept) as a formal intercollegiate varsity sport, with tuition waivers. Local legend Brad Cooper, Kamehameha Schools, was on the men’s gymnastics team for four years and was an officer in the UH Letterman’s Club (he later served as UH’s menehune for some years, possibly the most agile ever). He recalls there being at least a dozen on the men’s team, including Billie Popiwinko (sp?) who won a world trampoline championship as a UH athlete. Don Heffner, another member of the men’s gymnastics team, today teaches gymnastics and tumbling classes at UH and has done so since the retirement of Don Gustavson. During the early 1970s there was an attempt to start a women’s team but it did not advance beyond club status. Ms Cydni Medeiros was one of the early team members and now serves as the Technical Chair for USA-Gymnastics Hawaii Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.

For additional information contact Dr Donna Mah (842.5642, mah@hawaii.edu), Dr Max Vercruyssen (741.2223, director@hawaiiacademy.com), anyone at Hawaii Academy (842.5642, info@hawaiiacademy.com), or visit our website at www.hawaiiacademy.com.

Both athletes are grateful for support from USA-Gymnastics and Hawaii Academy.