Competition brings more than 800 gymnasts to Grand Rapids

By: Brittney Schering

“Gymnastics on the Grand” competition, hosted by Grand Rapids Gymnastics, will be held Friday, Dec. 3 through Monday, Dec. 6 at the DeVos Place Convention Center. The USAG sanctioned three day invitational will host more than 800 gymnasts, both males and females, from the Midwest region.

The youngest up-and-coming gymnasts will kick off the event Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. The highest-level athletes will compete to earn a spot in Event Finals on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.

The top scoring athletes from Saturday’s preliminary qualifying sessions will earn the opportunity to compete in Sunday’s Event Finals, which will be similar to the Olympics competition.

Gymnastics on the Grand welcomes clubs from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Thirty female teams and nine male teams will compete for top honors.

The competition will take place on Friday, 5 to 9 p.m., then Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. For a detailed schedule of sessions and more information, please check out www.GymasticsontheGrand.com.

DeVos Place to host Grand Rapids Young Professionals event

By: Brittney Schering

Join in on "A New Conversation" Wednesday, Oct. 13 for the Grand Rapids Young Professionals' second annual community conversation as they present: VOTE! Be the Change You Want to See.

This year's event features Lauri Parks, Grand Rapids City Clerk. She is scheduled to speak about the issues facing us in upcoming elections.

A panel discussion between young professional representatives from the Democratic, Green, Libertarian, and Republican parties will follow, engaging conversation on the current political climate and issues impacting our community.

Participants may tweet #ANCVOTE to have questions answered via Twitter throughout the panel discussion. DeVos Place Convention Center will host the event from 5:30 - 8 p.m.

The public can register to attend at http://anewconversation.eventbrite.com. It is free of charge, however, online registration is required no later than Oct. 8.

"A New Conversation" began as a collaborative effort in 2009. For further information, contact Amanda Rogalski at (616) 540-9231 or aarogalski@gmail.com.