National acrobatic & tumbling championship held at Fairmont State

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Schools from across the United States traveled to Fairmont this weekend to compete in the National Collegiate Acrobatic & Tumbling Association (NCATA) 2024 National Championship .

The event was hosted by Fairmont State University (FSU), which got the opportunity after complications with the original venue according to FSU Athletic Director Greg Bamberger; FSU was also one of the teams that competed in the national championship.

“Someone needed to host, we talked about it as a staff, and [NCATA] being a program that has been one of the founders of this sport, we said let’s give it a shot,” Bamberger said.

According to NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook, NCATA was founded in 2010 with the goal of bringing college acrobatics and tumbling to the national stage. Since Cook became executive director in 2014, she said she’s seen the sport grow tremendously at the college level. Now, the organization is focused on bringing acrobatics and tumbling to the next generation of young female athletes.

“These are genuine, quality opportunities for young women who have competed and trained in these skill sets all their lives, to come and continue their collegiate careers competitively and also pursue their academic interests and have that adult growth and that student-athlete experience that we know is so valuable for young women to go on and be successful later in life,” Cook said.

On Saturday No. 1 seed Baylor defeated No. 3 seed Gannon to win its ninth straight NCATA National Title. According to the NCATA website , Baylor has won its last 38 meets, a win streak that has remained unbroken since March 2021.

Eight schools competed in the individual event finals on Sunday, including Fairmont State.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.