'Toughest Sport In the World' Competes in St. Louis This Weekend

The annual St. Louis Gymnastics Centre Open Invitational, 2012 Meet Me In St. Louis, kicks off Jan. 7 and 8. There is no admission fee for fans.

The high-powered gymnastic meet will be held in Chesterfield at The Club in the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center, which is located at 16625 Swingley Ridge Rd. It typically draws more than 5,000 fans, and gymnasts from eight Midwest states are scheduled to compete.

The host, (SLGC), is located in Webster Groves and is the oldest private gymnastic gym and training center in the Midwest. It is home to competing state, regional, national and international champions.

See profile of Olympic Medalist who will be mingling at the two-day competition.

SLGC is an official member of USA Gymnastics (USAG) and annually hosts this largest, USAG-sanctioned, co-ed meets in the country. In the very competitive Region III Men’s and Region IV Women’s divisions, SLGC teams consistently rank at or near the top. 

Some of the best gymnasts coming out of the St. Louis Gymnastics Centre go on to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Centre and have competed at the Junior Olympics Nationals. SLGC coaches are members of the U.S. Elite Coaches Association and are USAG-certified.

Patch is one of the mega-event's sponsors. For additional information, visit the competition website.

For those in the know, here's what to expect from the weekend competition:

Competition Levels
USA Gymnastics Sanctioned:
Men’s Levels 4 - 10
Women’s Levels 3 - 10 & Prep Opt / Xcel

US Gymnastics Unsanctioned:
Boys’ Levels 4 - 10
Girls’ Levels 2 - 10 & Prep Opt / Xcel

Competition Format
Modified Capital Cup
Multiple Competition Gyms
Equipment Provided by UAI

Awards
Individual medals to top 60 percent of gymnasts
Participation gift for all gymnasts

Teams in the meet:
ACROS                               Evansville, IN 
All American                       St. Louis, MO 
Barron Gymnastics              St. Louis, MO
Champaign County YMCA     Champaign, IL
Champions                          Louisville, KY
DeVeau's                            Fishers, IN 
Didion Athletics                   VanBuren, AR
Dynamics Gymnastics          Springfield , MO
Edge Gymnastics                 Liberty, MO
Emerald City Gymnastics      Overland Park, KS
Flip Side Gymnastics            St. Charles, MO
GAGE Gymnastics                Blue Springs, MO
G.T. Performance                 St. Charles, MO
Gym Quarters                      O'Fallon, MO
Heartland Gymnastics          Cape Girardeau, MO
High Energy                        Chesterfield, MO 
McCracken's                        Olathe, KS
MEGA                                 Kansas City, MO
Meyer's Gymnastics             Ellisville, MO
MidCounty YMCA                 St. Louis, MO
NGA Twisters                      O'Fallon, MO
Olympiad Chesterfield          Chesterfield, MO
Olympiad Ellisville               Ellisville, MO
Olympiad Festus                 Festus, MO
Olympiad MidRivers             St. Peters, MO
Olympiad North                  Florissant, MO
Olympiad West                   Manchester, MO
Planet Gymnastics              Union, MO
Rebound                            Blue Springs, MO
SLGC                                 Webster Groves, MO 
St. Louis Spirits                  St. Louis, MO
Show-Me Gymnastics          Columbia, MO
Spectrum                           Cape Girardeau, MO
Springfield Gymnastics        Springfield, MO
Southern Illinois Gymnastics Academy   Marion, IL
Stacey's Gymnastics            Wentzville, MO
Team Central Gymnastics Academy       Maryland Heights, MO 
Tiger Academy of Gymnastics               Columbia, MO            
TNT Gymnastics                                  Hollister, MO
Tri-Star                             Nolensville, TN
World Class                       Belleville, IL 
Xtreme Gymnastics            Poplar Bluff, MO
YMCA of Edwardsville         Edwardsville, IL

Webster Groves Editor Sheri Gassaway contributed information to this article.