YOG slots at stake in Junior Trampoline Gymnastics Championships

MANILA, Philippines — Slots to the third Youth Olympic Games in Argentina in October will be up for grabs in the fourth Asian Senior and Junior Trampoline Gymnastics Championships at the University of Makati Gym.

Close to a hundred trampoline gymnasts from 10 Asian countries are participating in the event being hosted for the first time by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines led by Cynthia Carrion.

While action in the seniors division will be intense, the stakes are higher in the juniors side where the top three in the boys’ and girls’ divisions will earn slots in this year’s YOG in Buenos Aires.

Events were being contested as of presstime among entries from powerhouse China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and host Philippines.

Fiona Mae Ventenilla will represent the Philippines in the girls’ side, and is seeking a slot to the YOG. Shane Francis Peralta will vie in the boys’ division but at 11 years old is too young for the YOG, which is reserved for athletes aged 15 to 18 years.

The Philippine seniors squad is made up of Francisco Deorelar and Benjamin Jesus Mendoza in the men’s division and Erin Abaniel in the women’s side.

The participants in the two-day event supported by the Department of Tourism, Philippine Sports Commission and Makati City were feted the other night at Conrad Hotel.

“We are delighted to host this huge Asian gymnastics event and  would like to thank the Asian Gymnastics Union for allowing us to conduct this competition featuring the best trampoline athletes in Asia,” said Carrion.

“This is also one way of promoting and popularizing this fast-growing sport worldwide in our country,” said Carrion, a member of the Asian Gymnastics Union executive board.