31. März 2006  
Pottsville, PA / USA  
Artistic Gymnastics

PREVIEW: 8th FRIENDSHIP CLASSICS 2006 GYM family Event 2006

'8th Friendship Classic 2006'
2006, March 31 - April 02

'Gymnastics, Friendship and Good Will...!'
The Friendship Classic - host by the Pottsville Gymnastic Training Center - is becoming a popular international event on the world scene of artistic gymnastics.
The event - in it’s eighth year- is an international sporting event promoting gymnastics, friendship and international good will and has drawn attention world-wide due to the numerous number of different countries that have taken part and the prestigious level of gymnasts....

2005 Senior All Around Winners: Britnee Habbib (CAN) 3rd All Around; Grace Taylor (USA/Aiken) 1st All Around and Zhang Nan (CHN) 2nd All Around.

PREVIEW: 8th FRIENDSHIP CLASSIC 2006
- Pottsville, PA /USA; March 31 -April 02 -

Sanctioned by the USA Gymnastic Federation, the Friendship Classic is a club-run invitational- hosted by the Pottsville Gymnastic Training Center under the direction of Sandy Kost-Sterner and Barbara Kost-Lonergan.
The club - while small in size - has been very successful in producing this international event.
Twenty-three different countries have participated in the Friendship Classic in its seven-year history.

>> FRIENDSHIP CLASSIC 2006: GYMmedia Report/Results 2006

- GYMmedia REVIEWS: >> >> 2000/01; >> 2002; >> 2003; >> 2004; >> 2005

The Friendship Classic has grown into the largest international invitational in the USA. No other USA invitational has featured as many countries in one invitational as the Friendship Classic.

2005 Junior All Around Winners: Han Bing (CHN) 1st All-around; Ekaterina Kramarenko (RUS) 3rd AA, and Kelsey Hope (CAN) 2nd AA.

2006 Participating - Guests from all over the World!
From developing countries such as Columbia, Albania and South Africa to power-house countries including China, Russia, Ukraine and Australia, gymnasts from all over the world are coming to America to take part in the Friendship Classic which has turned into a very competitive and high-level event.
Fourteen past Friendship Classic participants represented their respective country at the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens.
At the 2005 event, China sent Olympic all around bronze medalist Zhang Nan.
Other past competitors have included Oksana Chusovita, Suzanne Harmes, Lisa Brueggemann, Loes Linders, Svetlana Kliukina, Lisa Skinner, Verona van de Leur and many more outstanding athletes.
What makes the Friendship Classic a unique and special competition?
The custom awards ( lots of them!), great coaches hospitality room , super gifts for everyone, incredible venue, some of the world’s top gymnasts and energy and excitement unlike any other competition!
While the highlight of the last weekend in March is the World-Class competition, age group gymnasts will test their own skills among others in their own level.
The competition includes Level 4-10 gymnasts. And what a treat it is for the age group gymnasts! All age group participants are welcome to participate in the World-Class march-in to welcome the international athletes.
At the completion of awards, there is an autograph session followed by the ever-popular Friendship Classic Party where gymnasts can dance the night away with their teammates and new friends.
After a great weekend, international delegations are taken to New York City on Monday for a day of sightseeing in the Big Apple before heading home.
There is still time to participate in the Friendship Classic - a quality competition promoting international goodwill and friendship.
>> To learn more about the Friendship Classic, visit >> www.friedshipclassic.org or email the organizers at info_06@friendshipclassic.org


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