FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 25, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: KIRA CALM LEWIS 301-446-3327 - or - Kira.CalmLewis@pgparks.com
IYANA MOORE 301-446-3313 - or – Iyana.Moore@pgparks.com
M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation Gymnast Jessica Stevens Heads to Gymnastics World Championship in Russia
RIVERDALE, MD – The M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation’s Fairland Sports and Aquatics Complex will host a send-off party for Jessica Stevens, this Saturday, October 27, as she prepares to travel abroad with her U.S.A. Gymnastics teammates to the 33rd Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships. The celebration will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Stevens has been an athlete at Fairland Sports and Aquatics for the past five years in their Trampoline & Tumbling program, where she adheres to rigorous 5-days per week training schedule in preparation for the upcoming competition November 7 - 10, 2018 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The program, headed by Konstantin Gulisashvili, Head Trampoline & Tumbling Coach has resided at Fairland for the past 16 years.
Starting in ‘Mommy and Me’ gymnastics classes at just 18 months, Stevens switched solely to trampoline and tumbling when she was 8 years old. She qualified for the JumpStart National Team, the USA Gymnastics talent identification program for 8-10-year-olds, in 2009. After becoming a Junior Elite in 2013, Stevens made the Junior National Team in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and had the honor of bringing home a gold medal in synchronized (synchro) trampoline at the World Age Group Competition in Daytona Beach, FL.
Through gymnastics, Stevens has been able to travel and represent Fairland around the globe. She’s won the bronze medal in synchro at the 2015 World Age Group Competition in Odense, Denmark, represented the United States in the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria last year in November 2017, and this past April, was a part of the team that won the silver medal in the Pacific Rim Championships in Medellin, Colombia. Stevens became the top level, senior elite, in 2017 and made the 2017-2018 US Senior National Team and is currently a member of the 2018-2019 US Senior National Team. In September, she contributed to the team gold medal as well as earned an individual silver medal at the Senior Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru.
After the Trampoline & Tumbling World Championships, Stevens will continue to balance her training time with college as she pursues a degree in criminal justice at Howard Community College, in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which will be held in August 2020.