ABSTRACT
USA Gymnastics has achieved unprecedented success in international competition in recent years; both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics have garnered a number of World and Olympic medals. The following will be a description of the Talent Opportunity Program (TOPs) for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise) in the United States. Although the US Men’s Artistic program has an active and well-attended version of a talent identification (TID) program called ‘Future Stars,’ the women outnumber the men in national participation by over six to one. The two TID programs have different philosophies, with the men’s more dependent on competition and the women more dependent on testing. However, the modern men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics national teams of USA Gymnastics have been viable at the world and Olympic level for more than a decade, with dozens of team and individual medals. Clearly, USA Gymnastics is one of the premiere national gymnastics programs in the world. As such, does the TID program for the women (TOPs) provide USA Gymnastics with an advantage over other nations that may not have a TID program in place? The development, implementation, and results of the TID program for women are described below.
