The National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) announced that 115 student-athletes signed letters of intent this past November as part of the early signing period. This represents a 60% increase over the previous fall commitments. According to the NCATA press release, “[this] further solidifies the rampant rise of acrobatics and tumbling as the NCATA has seen a drastic influx in participation and member institutions over the past three seasons.”

Acrobatics & Tumbling, a discipline of USA Gymnastics, is the evolution of different forms of gymnastics and involves tumbling, tosses, and acrobatic lifts and pyramids. Teams participate in head-to-head competition and are scored in six events, including Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling, and Team. Acrobatics & Tumbling is a recent addition to collegiate sports programs in a growing number of colleges and university across the country. Currently there are 23 member schools in the US, making the sport a great collegiate opportunity for both artistic and acrobatic gymnasts.

The 2017 fall signing included 15 student-athletes from Texas, including three from clubs with acrobatics programs:

Hannah Alonzo – Boerne Gymnastics Center

City	San Antonio, TX
High School	Health Careers High School
NCATA school signed with	Azusa Pacific University
Gymnastics club & primary coaches	Boerne Gymnastics Center, Rumen and Radostina Lachkov
Gymnastics/Acro background	Competed 7 yrs in acro, jr. elite 12-18, was a national team member
Other honors/achievements	3rd place at Rzeszow International Acro Cup
Planned major/career	Pre Med, Plastic Surgeon

Kayla Pilcher – Aerial Athletics

City	San Antonio, TX
High School	Ronald Reagan High School
NCATA school signed with	University of Oregon
Gymnastics club & primary coaches	Aerial Athletics/ Heather Schnelzer
Gymnastics/Acro background	Level 10 artistic gymnast
Other honors/achievements	State and Regional qualifier
Planned major/career	Biology/ Pre-Med
Advice for young gymnasts	research colleges with Acro and Tumbling on youtube to assess their skill level and if you could be a competitive addition to the team. Create your own youtube video highlighting your tumbling skills. Visit your top choice schools and/or attend their summer camps, to meet the coaches and team members to better assess your fit and get a feel for the team “personality”

Kailey Wischer – Acrobatic Gymnastics of San Antonio

City	San Antonio, TX
High School	Reagan High School
NCATA school signed with	Azusa Pacific University
Gymnastics club & primary coaches	AGSA – Vladimir Vladev & Jennifer Banowsky
Gymnastics/Acro background	1-year Acrobatic Gymnastics, 7-years Artistic Gymnastics
Other honors/achievements	2017 Texas State Champion level 9 Pair; Several state and national titles in Artistic Gymnastics over the years; Two years competitive dance; Three year varsity diver for Reagan High School
Planned major/career	Marketing
Advice for young gymnasts	Achieving your goal makes every workout worth it!