Ten-time All-American whose floor exercise routine went viral will compete in all-women’s sports event at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY
Legendary gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field to oversee gymnastics competition
ALBANY, N.Y. – Former University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gymnast Katelyn Ohashi, whose floor exercise routine lit up the internet during her recently completed final season of collegiate competition, will join Team Americas for the Aurora Games, the inaugural all-women’s sports and entertainment festival to be held in Albany, NY, on August 20-25, 2019.
Aurora Games organizers also announced today that Ohashi’s UCLA coach, Valorie Kondos Field, will oversee gymnastics as well as choreograph a group number that will conclude the day’s event.
Gymnastics will take place at the Times Union Center in Albany on Wednesday, August 21 at 7 p.m. and is presented by Dunkin’. The format for gymnastics will be announced in the near future.
Fresh off a remarkable collegiate senior season during which she amassed six perfect scores for her memorable floor exercise routine, Ohashi is set to make her professional debut at the Aurora Games.
“I’m excited to be participating in the Aurora Games!” Ohashi said. “To be a part of an event that was named after a Roman Goddess and celebrates women in sports is definitely something I wholeheartedly support. Team Americas is going to crush it!”
“Katelyn’s joyful athleticism has captured the hearts of millions of people around the world,” said Aurora Games Executive Producer Jerry Solomon. “Now she’ll bring her fun-loving, exuberant display of athletic prowess to the Aurora Games, which will mark her first professional competition following a stellar collegiate career.”
Ohashi, 22, of Seattle, WA, first captured the world’s attention at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, CA on Jan. 12, where she received a perfect 10.0 score for her floor routine while competing for UCLA. Video of that routine soon went viral, amassing nearly 120 million views, and catapulting Ohashi to global stardom.
Ohashi scored six perfect 10s in floor exercise this past season while her Bruins placed third in the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s gymnastics championships.
Ohashi finished her four-year UCLA career with 11 perfect 10s (nine on floor, two on balance beam), earned All-American honors 10 times, and helped lead UCLA to the NCAA team championship in 2018, when she was co-national champion in floor exercise. She graduated from UCLA on June 14 with a degree in gender studies.
Renowned gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field to oversee gymnastics competition at Aurora Games
Ohashi’s college coach Valorie Kondos Field, known to many as “Miss Val”, will also have a starring role at the Aurora Games as she administers and manages the gymnastics competition.
Kondos Field, a former professional ballet dancer turned gymnastics coach, retired as UCLA’s women’s gymnastics coach following the 2019 NCAA championships. During her 29-year-tenure as coach, the Bruins won 528 meets and claimed seven national championships. A 1987 graduate of UCLA, Kondos Field is a member of the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
“For all who know me, I am all about opportunity, inspiration and entertainment,” Kondos Field said. “The Aurora Games provide a platform to bring all of these together on one stage. I am excited to be part of the team putting this together. We are going to put on a ‘must see’ show in Albany!”
Kondos Field will also provide television commentary for ESPN, the exclusive broadcaster of the Aurora Games, which will air all six nights of competition on ESPNU and ESPN3.
The Aurora Games will welcome approximately 150 world-class athletes, including Olympic medalists and national champions from around the globe, set to compete for Team Americas versus Team World. In addition to gymnastics, the event will feature competition in women’s tennis, basketball, ice hockey, figure skating and beach volleyball.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee and five-team Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci will serve as honorary team captains for the Aurora Games. Joyner-Kersee, an American track and field icon, will lead the athletes representing Team Americas. Comaneci, the legendary Romanian gymnast, will guide those competing for Team World.
Team Americas and Team World will compete for the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Trophy, the official trophy of the Aurora Games. Didrikson Zaharias was named the “Greatest Female Athlete of the First Half of the 20th Century” by the Associated Press for her achievements in multiple sports, including golf, basketball, baseball and track and field.
Individual session tickets for the Aurora Games are on-sale now at www.Ticketmaster.com. Tickets range in price from $15 to $129 and include access to the Aurora Games FanZone featuring music, athlete meet and greets, food and entertainment. Children may qualify for half-price tickets based on seating selection.
All-session ticket packages, which provide a seat for all six days of the multi-sport competition, are also available at www.Ticketmaster.com.
Group sales and VIP Experiences can be reserved by contacting Carrie Berger at (617) 688-6128.
For sponsorship information, contact Karen Scott Happer at [email protected].
The official hotel of the Aurora Games is Hilton Albany, located approximately .2 miles from the Times Union Center at 40 Lodge Street in downtown Albany. Aurora Games guests can save on overnight stays by using code 5AGCB when securing reservations by phone at 1-866-691-1183 or online at https://bit.ly/2U2n1mC.
For up-to-date information about the Aurora Games, visit AuroraGamesFestival.com or follow the Games on Twitter @AuroraGamesFest.