ESPN Wide World of Sports, Walt Disney: USAG and FIG’s choice for 2012 World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships
The USA Gymnastics (USAG), along with International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), revealed to the crowds that the 2012 World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships will be staged by the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
The World Age-Group Competition will also be hosted by them, with the chosen venue being the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex’s HP Field House situated at Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Fla. for both the events.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex has an annual record of hosting more than 350 events.
With a staggering ability of housing up to 70 different sports within it, as well as accommodating delegates from more than 70 countries, the facility has attained the status of being the leading multi-sport venue in the United States.
The famed ESPN Innovation Lab is also located at the said complex. It has served as the ESPN Emerging Technology Group’s testing ground and facilitated the development of ESPN’s 3D channel and other media tools such as the ESPN Snap Zoom and Ball Track.
The facility’s HD and 3D Broadcast Center comes complete with eight edit bays and links to ESPN facilities (specifically Bristol, Conn., New York, Los Angeles).
The 56 Hi-Def cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld, four studio) and 40 Hi-Def video screens effectively cover the entire 250-acre complex such that they can capture and run footage of any event taking place.
Apart from the technical and game-specific conveniences, the neon-lit highlight of the proposed venue is the Walt Disney Resort.
Faron Kelley, Director of Marketing at Disney Sports, expressed his excitement and promised the visiting teams “the kind of magical experience” that one can “only find at Disney”.
The Central Florida Sports Commission and the ESPN Wide World of Sports, are both local hosts. As vehement supporters of the sport of beauty, dance and strength, they are eager to receive 600 of the world’s best acrobatic gymnasts.
"The HP Field House is an ideal venue for both competitions, and our international guests will enjoy all of the available opportunities through having the event at the Walt Disney Resort," Steve Penny, USAG President, said.
The World Championships are scheduled for April 16-18, 2012. Tentatively, the flow of events decided upon allots the first two days to qualification rounds, while the third, also the last, day of the championships is reserved for the finals.
The three-day World Age Group Competition is scheduled for April 20, 2012. It follows a similar pattern, with the qualification rounds to be held on April 20 and 21, while the finals planned for April 22. The competition’s two eligible age categories are
11-16 and 12-19 years.
The decision mirrors two firsts, the first time the acrobatic worlds are being held outside of Europe, as well as the first time they are being hosted in the United States.
Previously, the biennial event has taken place in Belgium (1999), Poland (2000, 2010), Germany (2002), France (2004), Portugal (2006) and Scotland (2008).
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