The 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games has wrapped up in Virginia but we’re not done reminiscing about the great time we all had! Thank you to everyone for participating and we hope to see you all again next year in Houston! For FULL RESULTS from all sports, CLICK HERE.

Baton Twirling:

Baton Twirling kicked off on August 3^rd at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Glitter and batons invaded the arena for 4 days and included Solo One Baton, Solo Two Baton, Solo Three Baton, Solo Multiple, Strut (X, Straight-line, etc), Basic Strut, Military Strut, Parade Strut, Hoop and Flag. More than 100 baton twirlers also put on a show at the Celebration of Athletes at Norfolk State University to showcase the sport and entertain the crowd.

Bowling:

August 2^nd-4^th saw the Bowling competition at Pinboys on the Beach in Virginia Beach, VA. Over 100 bowlers came together to pit the best against the best in the singles, doubles, and team competitions. Many competitors competed in all three divisions and from the smiles on their faces, seemed to have the time of their lives.

Cheerleading:

Cheerleading moved into the Boo Williams Sportsplex on August 4^th with lots of spirit and awesome moves! Divisions included Team, Pom Squad, Stunt Team, Crowd Leader, Solo Cheer, Jump and Tumble Pass, with about 114 AAU Cheerleading members participating.

Field Hockey:

Eight teams came together to compete in this years’ Field Hockey competition at the Virginia Beach National Training Center. A long day of practice on August 4^th led to 4 days of competition, from August 5^th-August 8^th. The Black team took home the title after going 4-1-1 during the tournament.

Gymnastics:

More than 300 gymnasts flipped their way into the Boo Williams Sportsplex on August 6^th and 7^th! There was a total of nine sessions, ranging from Level 1-8, Open Optional and Ladies. Xcel Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond were also included in the two day competition. During this event, we honored this year’s AAU High School Sullivan Scholarship Award winner, Nicole Carroll, who competed in Gymnastics and Track & Field at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.

Jump Rope:

More than 250 jump ropers tried to hop their way to the gold at the 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games! Jump Rope invaded Boo Williams Sportsplex from July 31^st – August 3^rd and included Boys’ Singles, Girls’ Singles, Pairs, Double Dutch and Group events, ranging from 8U to an 18-22 year old age group. Jump Rope was also featured in the Celebration of Athletes and was a huge hit!

Karate:

Karate invaded the Chesapeake Conference Center on August 7^th – 8^th for the 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games! Nearly 300 athletes gave it their all to try to bring home the gold in Kata, Kumite and Kobudo. The Karate Team Trials also took place during this team as a type of tryout for who would be on next year’s team.

Taekwondo:

Taekwondo took over the Chesapeake Conference Center from August 1^st - 2^nd with 128 competitors. This event included Creative Forms, Creative Musical Forms, Weapons Forms, Musical Weapons Forms, Self Defense and Padded Weapons. Board Breaking was included again this year and was a huge hit!

All-Sports Combine:

This competition brought out boys and girls of all ages on August 6^th to compete in Bench Press (for reps), Power Clean (for reps),  Broad Jump, Medicine Ball Throw, and 40 yd Run.  For females, the best showings in each event were: Bench Press – 28 (Eman Khalifa); Power Clean – 28 (Taliyah Mizell); Broad Jump – 7’8” (Gabrielle Perryman); Medicine Ball Throw – 20’6” (Ariel Washington) ; 40 yd Run – 5.34 (Gabrielle Perryman). For males, Bench Press – 31 (Max Crofton); Power Clean – 32 (Luke Villauz); Broad Jump – 8’10” (Evan Pittman); Medicine Ball Throw – 27’8” (Zachary Valentine) ; 40 yd Run – 5.18 (Evan Pittman).

Feats of Strength:

Following the Combine, the Feats of Strength competition featured a Tire Flip, Bobsled Push, and Farmers Walk. For females, the best times for each event were: Tire Flip – 36.31 (Morgan Reynolds); Bobsled Push – 5.92 (Morgan Reynolds); and Farmers Walk -  15.57 (Dayna Wasson). For the males: Tire Flip – 31.01 (Tyler Lummus); Bobsled Push – 5.35 (Tyler Lummus), and Farmers Walk – 11.46 (Evan Pittman).

Powerlifting:

Athletes ranging from 5 years old to 19 years old competed in the Powerlifting portion of the Strength Sports competition at Chesapeake Conference Center on August 3^rd. Many athletes set World Records in their lifts in the Squat, Bench Press, Dead Lift, and Overall Lift – many setting records in all four! Top teams were:  1) Jets Barbells 2) Total Fitness Power Team 3) Jet Barbells Juniors.

Weightlifting:

In similar fashion on August 4^th and 5^th, many lifters in the Weightlifting competition set World AND American Records, as well as qualify for the 2015 AAU World Weightlifting Championships in September in Las Vegas. This competition included snatch and clean and jerk.

Sport Stacking:

Sport Stacking was back in full force this year with just under 300 members! Competition spanned two days (July 31^st – August 1^st) and featured athletes ranging from 6U – 17-18 year olds. Sport Stacking included eight events – three individual events (3-3-3, 3-6-3, Cycle), two doubles events (age division & child/parent) and three relay team events (two head-to-head relays & the timed 3-6-3 relay). Sport Stacking was also included in the Celebration of Athletes, with two athletes from Team USA and two more from Team Canada put on a demonstration of each event.

Swimming:

The pool at the Brittingham Midtown Community Center was full with over 400 athletes participating in Swimming at the 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games! Swimming began on Thursday, July 30^th and continued throughout the weekend, concluding on Monday, August 3^rd. Ages ranged from 8 & under to a 15-18 year old division.

Track & Field/Multi-Events:

Multi-Events kicked off the Track & Field events at the 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games at Norfolk State University on August 1^st and 2^nd. More than 600 athletes competed in the Triathlon, Pentathlon, Heptathlon, Decathlon and various Racewalk events. Another 12,300 athletes joined us on the track on August 3^rd – 8^th to compete in the Track & Field portion of the 2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games. This amount of athletes made this event the second largest youth track meet in the world! Competitors participated in Track events, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Pole Vault, Javelin, Turbo Jav and Discus.

Wrestling:

Wrestling took over the Virginia Beach Convention Center from August 3^rd-7^th. 22 teams battled it out for first, with Minnesota Clash taking a hard fought championship over Brecksville Ohio 36-34 and went undefeated for the tournament.