The 2007 Lake Placid World Cup will mark the opening of a new exciting World Cup Series.  Five years after Greensboro, North Carolina, hosted the first and last trampoline World Cup on U.S. soil, the city of Lake Placid, New York, will host a World Cup event in trampoline and tumbling.  The World Cup will be a category B event.  Points earned by the 8 finalists of the event will be added to these athletes' totals in the FIG rankings.  The FIG world rankings will be used to determine the athletes who will compete at the 2008 World Cup Final. 

The World Cup Series are held over two years and are currently concluded by a bi-annual World Cup Final where the top 8 ranked athletes compete.  A record 7 World Cups will be held in 2007, starting in the U.S., followed by other stages in Quebec City, Canada, one week later, China, Belgium, Bulgaria, Russia, and Poland.  

This new 2007-2008 World Cup cycle will be the 9th World Cup cycle in trampoline.

The Lake Placid World Cup is scheduled for April 1-2, 2007 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. 

Lake Placid, which is located in the Adirondack State Park in the north of the state of New York, is very familiar with hosting top international events.  This leading ski resort was the host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games.  It also counts one of the top training facilities in the U.S.: the U.S. Olympic Training Center that will precisely be where the World Cup will be held. 

Overall, 137 athletes from 20 countries will compete in Lake Placid.  No major trampoline or tumbling nation will be missing.  58 men and 37 women will compete in individual trampoline.  27 men's pairs and 12 women's pairs will compete in synchronized trampoline.  19 male tumblers and 16 female tumblers will compete.

This Lake Placid World Cup will offer the opportunity to U.S. fans to see their athletes compete against the best in the world.  The U.S. team has been achieving some of its best results in a long time over the past couple of years.  At the most recent World Championships in 2005 in Eindhoven, the U.S. team obtained its best individual result since 1976 with the 5th place in individual by Alaina Hebert.  In addition, the women's team with Hebert, Parilla, Jenny Wescott, and Amanda Bailey won a very good bronze medal.  It was the first team medal ever won by the United States since the inception of the team competition in 1982.  The men's U.S. trampoline team was less lucky at these 2005 World Championships but counts among the best in the world.

In tumbling, the performances where also very good with the women's team winning the silver medal, led by Yuliya Hall (6th in individual) and Alexis Diaz (4th in individual), who were well seconded by Leanne Seitzinger and Amy McDonald.  The men's tumbling team took the 5th place led by Casey Finley (6th in individual). 

Over the 2005-2006 World Cup cycle, the U.S. team obtained very good results.  In women's tumbling, Yuliya Hall (pictured on the left) won the gold medal at the 2005 Ostend World Cup, took the silver medal at the 2005 Sofia World Cup and the bronze medal at the 2005 Levallois World Cup.  The Russian-native also took the 4th place at the 2006 Birmingham World Cup Final and the 5th place at the 2006 Salzgitter World Cup.  Her teammate Alexis Diaz reached the final at the 2005 Sofia and Levallois World Cups (6th both times).  The men's tumbling results were also very good with a silver medal for Casey Finley at the 2005 Levallois World Cup, a 4th place for Kalon Ludvigson at the 2005 Sofia World Cup, a 6th place for Chris Adair at the 2006 Ghent World Cup, and 7th places for Chris Ford at the 2005 Levallois World Cup and the 2005 Ostend World Cup.

In trampoline, 8-time U.S. Champion Ryan Weston reached the 6th place at the 2005 Sofia World Cup and the 2006 Savognin World Cup.  2-time U.S. Champion Chris Estrada (pictured on the right) took the 5th place at the 2006 Krasnodar World Cup.  In women's individual trampoline, Erin Blanchard finished 5th at the 2006 Savognin World Cup whereas Alaina Hebert was a finalist at the 2005 Sofia World and the 2005 Ostend World Cup. 

In synchronized trampoline, Chris Estrada-Ryan Weston displayed great consistency with a silver medal at the 2005 Ostend World Cup and four other finals (Sofia 2005, Levallois 2005, Savognin 2006, and Salzgitter 2006).  Paired with Michael Devine, Estrada also reached the final at the 2006 Ghent World Cup.  U.S. Champion Erin Blanchard reached the final at the 2006 Salzgitter World Cup paired with Amanda Bailey, and at the 2006 Ghent World Cup, then paired with Alaina Hebert.  Hebert and Jenny Wescott finished 4th at the 2005 Sofia World Cup.      

As it was mentioned above, it will be only the second time in history that the U.S. are hosting a trampoline World Cup.  The prior trampoline World Cup in the U.S. was held in August 2002 in Greensboro, North Carolina.  It was won by Alexander Moskalenko (RUS) and Karen Cockburn (CAN) in trampoline and Denis Serdiukov (RUS) and Kathryn Peberdy (GBR) in tumbling.  Two additional tumbling World Cups took place in the U.S. in the past: in Saint Louis, Missouri, in July 2000, which was won by Levon Petrossian (RUS) and Elena Bluzhina (RUS), and in Orlando, Florida, in June 1997, which was won by Rayshine Harris (USA) and Chrystel Robert (FRA).

The United States hosted four World Championships in the past: in 1966 in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1976 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1982 in Bozeman, Montana, and in 1988 in Birmingham, Alabama.

In the following pages of this report, you will find detailed previews of all events featured at this exciting 2007 Lake Placid World Cup.   

Link to the start lists

Link to the official website