University of Maryland News

Contact Kelly Blake
School of Public Health Communications Director
kellyb@umd.edu
301.405.9418 for more information.
August 31, 2011

Maryland's Gymkana Troupe Competing on America's Got Talent

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW

University of Maryland's own Gymkana gymnastics troupe performed live in the semi-final competition of America's Got Talent Tuesday, August 30th and will find out tonight whether their fans voted them through to the final round of the talent competition. If they continue, they will be one of 10 acts who have a chance at winning the one million dollar prize.

The troupe first performed their ladders routine live on the NBC reality show on August 9 in the YouTube competition. America voted and put Gymkana through to the semi-final competition. In the semi-final performance on Tuesday, August 30, they brought their signature chairs routine to new heights with one student performing handstands on top of chairs that reached more than 20 feet in the air. They combined this with a high-intensity criss-crossing vault routine where troupers alternately flipped through a ring of fire. The performance was almost flawless until the final few seconds when the fire ring was thrown off center and the last gymnast flipping through could not avoid clipping the fire ring, which caused him, and the flaming ring, to fall.

Head Coach Scott Welsh assures that no one was hurt because Gymkana members know how to take calculated risks and how to handle when something goes wrong. "We know that no matter what happens now with the competition, that we have accomplished something great because of the increased visibility to the Gymkana troupe," Welsh says. "Of course we were disappointed that we didn't do the routine as we know we can, but it shows that what we do is really difficult and with little margin for error, mistakes sometimes happen. That doesn't take away from the fact that our troupe members are highly trained and highly skilled."

In addition to their crowd-pleasing gymnastic routines infused with extreme acrobatics, what makes Gymkana unique is their mission. Based in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, this student group acts as "ambassadors of healthy living" to young people and models healthy behaviors by pledging to remain drug, alcohol, and tobacco free and cooperating to accomplish challenging physical feats. They regularly perform shows for elementary, middle, and high schools in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia region and mentor kids ages 5-16 through gymnastics classes and a six-week camp each summer.

"We're so proud of our Gymkana troupe for their positive outreach to kids, and for their success on America's Got Talent," says Dean Robert S. Gold of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. "We expect that their increased visibility from participating in this show will enable Gymkana to expand their outreach to schools and to inspire even more young people."

Tune into NBC tonight at 9 PM to see if Gymkana will advance to the final round of America's Got Talent!

Watch their August 9 performance: here.

Visit Gymkana's website.