Two-day gymnastics competition to take over fairgrounds

Get ready for some youngsters to flip out at the Grape Pavilion on the Grape Festival Grounds this weekend.

About 870 gynmasts from several states will be in town for a competition hosted by Champion Gymnastics of Stockton, and they will compete at all levels.

“We have almost every level. We start at the lowest Junior Olympics competitive level,” said Jennifer Krause of Champion Gymnastics, taking a break from helping with the setup on Friday evening. “We have almost every level 10 from Northern California — there’s 55 of them.

“They’ll do flips and twists, and they compete all four events. We’ll see some kids here that have already accepted full rides to college. It’s really high-level gymnastics.”

Champion’s 55 gymnasts will join a few competitors from Gym Stars in Stockton, along with gymnasts from Modesto, Roseville, the Bay Area and a few clubs from Nevada and Arizona.

Krause said the preparation and planning has taken months, and a team spent Friday setting up. The competition will run from 8 a.m. on Saturday to 9 p.m. on Sunday evening.

“Each level competes at a different time. They do vault, bars, beam and floor,” Krause said. “We have two gyms running at the same time. So when the Level-10 session is going, other side we’ll have the young kids, the Level-2s competing.”

For anyone interested in catching the competition, entry is $10 for adults and $5 for children, with those 5 and younger free.