GREENVILLE, S.C. – Always looking for unique ways to give more opportunities to student-athletes and support their institutions, Conference Carolinas is pleased to announce that the conference will hold an Event Championships and name a regular season champion in the sport of acrobatics and tumbling in the spring of 2020.
Conference Carolinas will hold the inaugural Event Championships on Sunday, April 19, 2020 at King University in Bristol, Tenn. The Event Championships will get underway at 2 p.m. The finals winners will receive awards for placing first in their events.
In addition, Conference Carolinas will name a biweekly Athlete of the Week in acrobatics and tumbling during the regular season that runs from February until the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association Championships that will be held Thursday, April 23-Saturday, April 25 in Eugene, Ore.
Conference Carolinas will also name an all-conference team that will include a Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Specialist of the Year and Coach of the Year.
“We are excited to be on the forefront of helping to solidify the tremendous sport of acrobatics and tumbling in the NCAA,” Conference Carolinas Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “It was important to us to provide this opportunity to our student-athletes in Conference Carolinas. We cannot wait for what we know will be a tremendous regular season leading into the inaugural Event Championships on April 19 at King.”
In June of 2019, acrobatics and tumbling was recommended by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics to become an NCAA Emerging Sport. The official vote to add acrobatics and tumbling to this program that is a pipeline supporting the advancement of women’s sports to NCAA championship status will be at the 2020 NCAA Convention that will be held Wednesday, Jan. 22-Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.
"What an exciting development for Conference Carolinas and all the student-athletes competing in acrobatics and tumbling at their member schools,” NCATA President Dr. Renee Baumgartner said. “We appreciate the leadership of Commissioner Chris Colvin and one of our long time member athletic directors, David Hicks from King University, in advancing opportunities within the conference and providing their student-athletes a conference championship experience."
The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association currently has 30 NCAA colleges and universities sponsoring the sport, which is a discipline of gymnastics involving tumbling, tosses, acrobatic lifts and pyramids. If adopted, acrobatics and tumbling would join the NCAA emerging sports program on Aug. 1, 2020.
"With the recent growth within the conference, and in the region, over the past few years, it's encouraging to see this progress that most importantly leads to more competitive opportunities and more opportunities to recognize the accomplishments of the student-athletes,” NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook said.
Entering the 2020 season, five Conference Carolinas institutions presently sponsor the sport of acrobatics and tumbling with Belmont Abbey, Converse, Erskine, King and Limestone each sponsoring the up-and-coming sport. Chowan has announced the addition of the program, but they will not compete until the 2020-21 season.
“Acrobatics and tumbling is one of the most exciting and fastest growing sports in the country,” Hicks, the Conference Carolinas sport liaison for acrobatics and tumbling, said. “I’m excited that Conference Carolinas has established itself as a leader in providing championship opportunities for these amazing young women.”
You can learn more about acrobatics and tumbling by visiting https://thencata.org/.
This is Conference Carolinas
Conference Carolinas has a rich tradition in roots that dates back to its early initial inception on Dec. 6, 1930. The NCAA Division II athletics conference presently has member schools located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Conference Carolinas member institutions are Barton, Belmont Abbey, Chowan, Converse, Emmanuel, Erskine, King, Lees-McRae, Limestone, Mount Olive, North Greenville and Southern Wesleyan.
Conference Carolinas believes in the development and formation of the whole person in body, mind and soul. Our students are nationally recognized for their extraordinary success in the classroom, in the community and at the highest levels of NCAA competition.
Please visit conferencecarolinas.com to learn more about Conference Carolinas.
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