INDIANAPOLIS, July 19, 2019 – On Saturday, July 20, many of the country’s top elite female gymnasts will take over the KFC Yum! Center when they compete at the 2019 GK U.S. Classic in Louisville, Ky. With athletes competing on the junior and senior levels, the GK U.S. Classic is the last opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the 2019 U.S. Championships, the national championships for men’s and women’s gymnastics. Gymnasts who have already qualified to nationals use the GK U.S. Classic as a final tune-up for the U.S. Championships. Also, eight women are pursuing berths on the five-woman U.S. Team for the 2019 Pan American Games, which begin on July 24. The 2019 U.S. Hopes Championships, held today in conjunction with the GK U.S. Classic, features rising stars in the culmination event of Hopes program.

2018 World and 2016 Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas, and her team gold-medal World Championships’ teammates Kara Eaker of Grain Valley, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express, Morgan Hurd of Middletown, Del./First State Gymnastics, Grace McCallum of Isanti, Minn./Twin City Twisters, and Riley McCusker of Brielle, N.J./MG Elite, headline the senior field. Also competing in the senior division are 2019 World Cup gold-medalist Jade Carey of Phoenix, Ariz./Arizona Sunrays, 2019 American Cup champion Leanne Wong of Overland Park, Kansas/Great American Gymnastics Express, and 2016 Olympic alternate MyKayla Skinner of Gilbert, Ariz./Desert Lights Gymnastics.

The eight women vying for the Pan Am Games Team are: Sloane Blakely of Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; Eaker; Aleah Finnegan of Lee’s Summit, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express; Hurd; Shilese Jones of Westerville, Ohio/Future Gymnastics Academy; Sunisa Lee of St. Paul, Minn./Midwest Gymnastics Center; McCusker; and Wong. The process for selecting the team is detailed in the selection procedures.

The competition schedule is: GK U.S. Classic – July 20 at 1 p.m. ET for juniors and 6:30 p.m. ET for seniors; and GK Hopes Championships, July 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Livestreams of the GK Hopes Championships and the junior session of the GK U.S. Classic will be available on the USA Gymnastics YouTube Channel. The Olympic Channel will broadcast the senior session of the GK U.S. Classic live at 7 p.m. ET on July 20. The competition will be simultaneously webcast on OlympicChannel.com, NBCSports.com, the Olympic Channel app and the NBC Sports app

Single-session tickets for the GK U.S. Classic on July 20 are $35-$45 for the junior session at 1 p.m. and $39-$59 for the senior session at 6:30 p.m. All times are Eastern and subject to change. Tickets for the GK Hopes Championships range from $20-$30. All-session ticket packages range in price from $79-$129, plus applicable fees, and prices vary depending on the seat location. The all-session ticket includes both the junior and senior sessions for the GK U.S. Classic on July 20, as well as the GK Hopes Championships on July 19.

Tickets may be purchased at the KFC Yum! Center Box Office or ticketmaster.com. For information on club sales or group tickets, call Kelsie Hall at 502.690.9029. The KFC Yum! Center, in partnership with the Louisville Sports Commission, is playing host to the weekend’s events.

The GK Hopes Championships has two age groups, 10 -11 year-olds and 12 -13 year-olds. The top 18 from each age group advanced to the GK Hopes Championships from the Hopes Classic.

Past senior Classic all-around champions include Biles, 2018, 2014-15; Olivia Courtney, 2009; Mattie Larson, 2010; Ashley Priess, 2006; Aly Raisman, 2016, 2011-12; Kyla Ross, 2013; Alyona Shchennikova, 2017; Bridget Sloan, 2007; and Ashley Stott, 2008.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its athlete safety policies and procedures, including adopted the updated USA Gymnastics Safe Sport Policy. Former gymnast and business executive Li Li Leung is the new president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, visit usagym.org.