Sports / Non-ceremonial videos

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1993 United States Olympic Festival
San Antonio
Dates: July 23-August 1, 1993
Opened by:  
Final Torchbearers: Sean O'Neill (table tennis) and Sharon Cain (handball)
Athletes Oath:
Officials Oath:
Athletes: 3000+
Sports: 37

TV: TNT and PRIME Network
Hours: TNT 10 PRIME 20 TOTAL 30
Hosts:
    TNT Ernie Johnson, Jr. and Nicole Watson
    PRIME Paul Kennedy
Reporters:
    Ron Thulin (Basketball)
    Jim Simpson (Figure Skating)
    Bill Land (Swimming)
    Mel Procter (Boxing)
    Ron Thulin (Diving)
    Craig Sager (Athletics)
Analysts:
    Hubie Brown (Basketball)
    Peter Carruthers (Figure Skating)
    Mary Wayte (Swimming)
    Craig Sager (Swimming)
    Kevin Kiley (Boxing)
    Cynthia Potter (Diving)
    Craig Masback (Athletics)

Friday, July 23 -- 10:00 PM - 10:30 PM (CT) KENS (CBS affliate in San Antonio)
    Opening Ceremonies

TBS, Prime team on Olympic fest
Variety Staff 
Mar 5, 1993 

Turner Broadcasting and the newly merged Prime Network have teamed to 
acquire the rights to the U.S. Olympic Festival for the next three years, 
creating what is believed to be the first joint programming venture between two 
cable networks. 

No financial details of the deal were disclosed. 

Terms of the deal call for Turner's TNT to carry 10 of the 30 hours of 
programming available and Prime to offer its affiliates 20 hours from the 
festival, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 1 in San Antonio. 

This is the first successful partnership between Prime and Turner, though 
not the parties' first attempt. The two cable companies, along with CBS, had 
considered a joint bid for the NCAA basketball tournament a few years back. 
The deal never materialized and CBS got the package exclusively. 

There have been several joint production ventures between cable and 
broadcast networks, such as CBS and TNT on the Winter Olympics in Albertville and 
Turner's deal with ABC on the Pan Am games, though this is thought to be the 
first programming venture between two cable networks. Turner also has a deal 
with ABC under which the broadcaster will carry a portion of Turner's 
Goodwill Games. 

The 1994 Festival will be in St. Louis, and will be held in Denver in 1995. 

Copyright © 1993 Reed Business Information 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 1993

USOF-'93 TV Schedule to Include Live Coverage from 15 Sports

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The United States Olympic Committee, TNT Sports, Prime 
Network and the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee have announced the 
television schedule for U.S. Olympic Festival-'93, which opens July 23 in San 
Antonio, Texas. In an unprecedented agreement, the two cable networks will 
cooperatively produce and televise a total of 30 hours of coverage -- 10 on 
TNT and 20 on Prime Network -- over a nine-day span from July 24-Aug. 1, and 
it will include live coverage from 15 sports ranging from archery to 
wrestling. 

In addition to the planned coverage of archery, basketball, boxing, diving, 
figure skating, gymnastics, ice hockey, speed skating, swimming, 
synchronized swimming, track and field, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and 
wrestling, the two cable networks will air athlete features and cover breaking 
news at all the Festival venues, as well as continuously updating scores and 
results from the 37 different sports at USOF-'93 in San Antonio.

Both cable networks will begin their coverage on Saturday, July 24, with 
TNT's first two-hour show starting at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern) and featuring 
basketball, figure skating and synchronized swimming. Prime Network's telecast 
that day will begin at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) and include coverage of archery, 
figure skating and swimming. TNT's other two-hour shows will air on July 25, 
28, 31, and Aug. 1, the final day of the '93 Festival. Prime Network will 
broadcast two-hour shows each day from July 25-Aug. 1, except on Wednesday, July 
28, when it will air a four-hour show.

The networks' talent should be announced in another two to three weeks, but 
Prime Network has announced that Paul Kennedy will serve as its host during 
the multisport event in San Antonio.

"We're excited about the schedule and look forward to watching the coverage 
TNT and Prime Network have planned for the U.S. Olympic Festival," USOC 
Executive Director Harvey W. Schiller said. "The U.S. Olympic Festival is a 
showcase for our Olympic hopefuls and this is an excellent opportunity for 
millions of Americans to preview and follow the athletes who will most likely 
represent the USA in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games."

"We look forward to bringing the U.S. Olympic Festival to our national 
viewership with great anticipation," said Dan Wilhelm, Prime Network's vice 
president of programming and network operations. "The talent and prestige 
associated with this event promises to offer many memorable moments that we are 
happy to share with our audience."

The U.S. Olympic Festival telecast package is part of a three- year 
agreement with the USOC which allows TNT and Prime Network to jointly produce and 
televise the U.S. Olympic Festivals in 1993, '94 (St. Louis) and '95 
(Denver). It furthers Turner Sports' increasing role in Olympic-related programming. 
In addition to TNT's weekly series U.S. Olympic Gold, TNT televised the 
1991 Pan American Games from Cuba and the 1992 Olympic Winter Games from 
Albertville, France. TNT will also televise the 1994 Olympic Winter Games from 
Lillehammer, Norway, and its sister network, TBS, will televise the 1994 
Goodwill Games from St. Petersburg, Russia - - having already televised the 1986 
(Moscow) and 1990 (Seattle) Games. TNT is seen in 57 million homes throughout 
the United States.

As a 24-hour sports cable service, Prime Network will distribute its 
coverage of the U.S. Olympic Festival to its regional affiliate systems, covering 
every major television market in the United States and reaching 38 million 
cable homes nationwide with its telecast. Individuals should check with the 
regional sports network in their area for specific dates, times and replay 
information for the Prime Network telecast of the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival, 
but among the affiliates which should be able to pick up the coverage are: 
Home Sports Entertainment (southwest), Sunshine Network (Florida), Prime 
Sports Network (PSN) - Rocky Mountain, PSN - Upper Midwest, PSN - Midwest, PSN - 
Intermountain West, Prime Ticket Network (west), Home Team Sports 
(mid-Atlantic), KBL Sports Network (western Pa., and region), SportSouth Network 
(southeast), New England Sports Network, Prime Sports Northwest, Empire Sports 
Network (western and central N.Y.), Madison Square Garden Network 
(northeast), Pro Am Sports System (Mich., northwest Ohio), and Satellite Sports 
Networks (serving dish owners nationwide). The U.S. Olympic Festival will also be 
offered to SportsChannel Chicago, SportsChannel Philadelphia, SportsChannel 
Pacific, SportsChannel Ohio and SportsChannel Cincinnati.

The combined TNT and Prime Network schedule, subject to change, follows 
(all times listed are Eastern): 

USOF-'93 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Date Network Time Coverage
Sat., July 24 TNT 4-6 p.m.
FIGURE SKATING -- Pairs, technical program
SYNCHRO. SWIMMING -- Duet (W)
BASKETBALL -- East vs. North (M)

Sat., July 24 Prime 9-11 p.m.
SWIMMING -- 800 m freestyle (W), 100 m freestyle (M/W),
200 m Breaststroke (M\W), 200 m Backstroke (M\W), 200 m
Butterfly (M\W), 1,500 m freestyle (M), 4x100 m
freestyle (M\W)
FIGURE SKATING -- Technical (M\W)*, Pairs Technical*
ARCHERY -- 70 m (M)*, 60 m (W)*

Sun., July 25 TNT 4-6 p.m.
BASKETBALL -- South vs. North (M)
FIGURE SKATING -- Pairs, Women's finals
SYNCHRO. SWIMMING -- Solo (W), Team (W)

Sun., July 25 Prime 9-11 p.m.
FIGURE SKATING -- Men's singles, final
BASKETBALL -- West vs. East (M)

Mon., July 26 Prime 9-11 p.m.
BASKETBALL -- North vs. West (M)
SPEED SKATING -- 500 m (M\W), 1,500 m (M\W)
WRESTLING (G-R) -- North vs. West (M)**, East vs. South
(M)**

Tue., July 27 Prime 9-11 p.m.
SPEED SKATING -- 1,000 m (M\W)*, 3,000 m (M\W)*, 5,000
m (M\W)*
ICE HOCKEY -- North vs. South (M)
VOLLEYBALL -- North vs. South (W)
WEIGHTLIFTING -- 99 kg (M)**, 108 kg (M), 108+ kg (M),
83+ kg (M)

Wed., July 28 TNT 8-10 p.m.
BASKETBALL -- Gold-medal game (M)
DIVING -- 1 m springboard (M)

Wed., July 28 Prime 12-4 p.m.
BASKETBALL -- Bronze-medal games (M\W)
WRESTLING (FS) -- North vs. West (M)**, East vs. South
(M)**

Thu., July 29 Prime 9-11 p.m.
BOXING -- Semifinals (M) - 106 lbs., 119 lbs., 132 lbs.,
147 lbs., 165 lbs., 201 lbs.
GYMNASTICS -- All-Around/Team (M)
BASKETBALL -- Gold-medal game (W)**
WRESTLING (FS) -- North vs. South (M)**, East vs. West
(M)**

Fri., July 30 Prime 9-11 p.m.
BOXING -- Semifinals (M) - 112 lbs., 125 lbs., 149 lbs.,
156 lbs., 178 lbs., 201+ lbs.
DIVING -- 10 m platform (M)
TRACK AND FIELD -- Pole vault (M), triple jump (M),
4x100 m relay (M\W), heptathlon 200 m (W), decathlon
400 m (M), 100 m hurdles (W), 3,000 m steeplechase (M),
1,500 m (W), 10,000 m (M)

Sat., July 31 TNT 4-6 p.m.
DIVING -- 10 m platform finals (W)
GYMNASTICS -- All-Around/Team (W)**

Sat., July 31 Prime 9-11 p.m.
WATER POLO -- Gold-medal game (M)*
GYMNASTICS -- Individual event finals (M)

Sun., Aug. 1 TNT 4-6 p.m.
TRACK AND FIELD -- Long jump (M)**, 100 m (M\W)**, 110
m hurdles (M)**, 200 m (M\W), 1,500 m (W)
DIVING -- 10 m springboard finals (M)
GYMNASTICS -- Individual event finals (W)
BOXING -- Finals (2 bouts)

Sun., Aug. 1 Prime 9-11 p.m.
DIVING -- 3 m springboard (W)*
BOXING -- Finals
TRACK AND FIELD -- All events excluding 200 m (M\W) and
1,500 m (M)

* Same Day Tape
** Previous Day Tape

For more information contact:
Gayle Plant, USOC, at (719) 578-4529
Greg Hughes, Turner Sports, at (404) 827-3362
Denise Seomin, Prime Network, at (713) 661-0078
Cheryl Patrick, SALOC, at (210) 246-1993

*** USOF-'93 ***

The Albany, GA Herald July 17, 1993
Top athletes to compete at U.S. Olympic Festival
Sportstalk by Matt Meachem
Tribune Media Services
    Why will 3500 of America's top amateur athletes by gathering in San Antonio?
    To compete in Olympic Festival '93, an Olympic-style competition held every non-Olympic year for the country's premier amateur athletes. It is the nation's largest multi-sport competition, and is an event of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC).
    It was created in 1978 as a national multi-event competition that would showcase American athletes during the non-Olympic years. The Festival gives athletes an opportunity to participate in 37 Olympic and Pan-American sports, as well as to compete against top amateurs from across the country.
    U.S. Olympic Festivals of the past have been the proud hosts of many of our Olympic medalists. Greg Louganis, Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Evelyn Ashford and Edwin Moses are among the Olympic champions who have continued their quest for Olympic gold at the Festivals.
    Festival viewers have also been introduced to future Olympic stars such as gymnasts Mary Lou Retton and Bart Conner, spinter Carl Lewis and figure skater Scott Hamilton, all of whom made their debuts by winning gold at the U.S. Olympic Festival.
    "The U.S. Olympic Festival is a showcase for our Olympic hopefuls," says USOC executive director Harvery W. Schiller, "and this is an excellent opportunity for millions of Americans to preview and follow the athletes who will most likely represent the U.S. in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games."
    Turner Network Television (TNT) and Prime Network are teaming up for coverage of the U.S. Olympic Festival, which begins this week in San Antonio. Ernie Johnson, Jr. and Nicole Watson anchor TNT's studio coverage. Paul Kennedy serves as host for Prime Network.
    The two networks are jointly producing and televising a combined 30 hours of coverage, 10 on TNT and 20 on Prime Network. The agreement between the USOC and the two cable networks also includes the televising of the 1994 and 1995 Festivals from St. Louis and Denver, respectively.
    TNT's coverage begins on Saturday, July 24, at 4:00 p.m. (ET), and continues through Saturday, Aug. 1. It will feature live coverage of basketball, figure skating, diving, gymnastics, track & field and boxing.
    Prime Network's coverage includes two hours of daily coverage from July 24 through August 1, with four hours slated for July 28. Each telecast offers live action as well as taped highlights from earlier in the day.

U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : There's Ignition at the Alamodome : Opening ceremony: Scaffold catches spark from fireworks before sellout crowd in new San Antonio building.
July 24, 1993 WENDY WITHERSPOON TIMES STAFF WRITER

SAN ANTONIO — The new Alamodome was the site of a Texas-sized comeback Friday, when the United States Olympic Festival held its opening ceremony before a sellout crowd of 62,702.
If the opening ceremony is any indication, the festival will play much better here than it did in its last try, in Los Angeles in 1991, when it suffered the worst attendance in 10 years.
The crowd at the Alamodome was twice that at the opening ceremony at Dodger Stadium.
Many of the 3,000 athletes who will compete in 37 sports over the next nine days raised their arms in appreciation as they marched into the Alamodome.
Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, was at the ceremony, but will not compete this week.
"It's wonderful to be back," said Yamaguchi, who competed in the festival in 1989. "I had always loved coming to the Olympic Festival. There's an energy in the air."

Yamaguchi took the festival torch after swimmer Pablo Morales, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter butterfly, carried it into the building. Yamaguchi handed it to Sean O'Neill, a table tennis player from McLean, Va., and Sharon Cain, a team handball player from San Antonio. They lit the festival caldron, signaling the opening of competition.
The torch lighting sparked an indoor fireworks finale, which ignited part of a scaffold. No one appeared injured before the fire was put out.
The developmental nature of the festival was exemplified just before the caldron was lit, when Yamaguchi sat next to up-and-coming figure skater Michelle Kwan, answering questions from reporters.
Kwan, 13, was visibly in awe of Yamaguchi.
Kwan, from Torrance and the youngest skater in the women's senior division, admitted that she was nervous about the competition.
"It's really exciting coming to (the Alamodome) and seeing this huge rink," Kwan said.
The Alamodome contains two side-by-side ice rinks that will hold figure skating competition today and Sunday; speedskating, Monday and Tuesday; and hockey, Tuesday through Aug. 1.
Figure skating is one of the hottest tickets at the festival. More than 21,000 have been sold for Sunday's afternoon session, eclipsing by more than 100 the festival's previous record for an event, set at the 1987 gold medal men's basketball game in North Carolina.
Track and field is the most star-studded event at the festival, with 16 Olympians scheduled.
In other sports, the caliber of athletes is not as great.
"The competition wasn't exactly what I thought it would be," said cyclist Linda Brenneman, who won the first medal of the competition when she helped her team win a time trial Friday.
Brenneman, who trains in Mission Viejo, said the athletes here seem to be more serious than at previous festivals.
They come from all walks of life.
Badminton player Traci Britton is a 40-year-old mother of three who works as an administrator for a property management company at Manhattan Beach.
Britton said that the mixture of young and old has a purpose.
"Part of the reason the older players are there is for their experience and their ability to give information to the younger players," she said.
Moreover, thousands of athletes will exchange information in the days ahead. Some will emerge as successors to Morales and Yamaguchi. And for some, this will last a lifetime.
"It's a good feeling," Britton said. "I look at it as the closest to the Olympics that I'm going to get, and it's a thrill."

Home Video of Opening Ceremony

TNT and Prime coverage of Gymnastics

TNT coverage of Figure Skating

 

[panamfan]

1994 United States Olympic Festival
St. Louis
Dates: July 1-10, 1994
Opened by:  
Final Torchbearer: Al Joyner (athletics)
Athletes Oath: Marion Jones (athletics)
Officials Oath:
Athletes: 2200
Sports: 17

TV: CBS and PRIME Network
Hours: CBS 8 PRIME 20 Total: 28
Host:
    CBS Jim Nantz
    PRIME Paul Kennedy
Friday, July 1 -- 8:00 PM - (CT) (KTVI Channel 2 ABC (now FOX) affiliate in St. Louis)
    Opening Ceremony
Saturday July 2   -- 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Sunday July 3      -- 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM CBS
    Eye on Sports - Scheduled: U.S. Olympic Festival from St. Louis, segments will include taped coverage. (Live)
          -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Monday July 4      -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Tuesday July 5      -- 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
          -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Wednesday July 6  -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Thursday July 7      -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Friday July 8      -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Saturday July 9      -- 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM CBS
    Eye on Sports - Scheduled: U.S. Olympic Festival from St. Louis. Segments will include taped coverage. (Live)
          -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)
Sunday July 10      -- 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM CBS
    Eye on Sports - Scheduled: U.S. Olympic Festival from St. Louis. Taped coverage of the international track series from Lausanne, Switzerland. Women's Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. (Live)
          -- 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME
    Olympic Festival - From St. Louis. (Live)

For The Record
U.S. Olympic Festival Kicks Off In St. Louis
Seattle Times News Services

The U.S. Olympic Festival '94 kicked off last night in St. Louis with an old-fashioned lawn party under the Gateway Arch on the banks of the Mississippi River.
"St. Louis has gone out of its way to make sure you have a good time and that the U.S. Olympic Festival '94 goes down as the best ever," Florence Griffith-Joyner, three-time Olympic gold medalist, said in welcoming about 2,200 athletes, who with volunteers and fans crowded the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial for a two-hour show.
The festival, designed to give athletes a taste of the Olympics, featured only mixed doubles tennis yesterday. Today, the festival kicks into gear with 17 events, including boxing, basketball, figure skating, swimming and diving.
(Athletes Oath: Marion Jones)

Opening ceremonies under the Gateway Arch on July 1 were emceed by Bob Costas and featured Al Joyner, who in 1984 had become the first American to win the Olympic triple jump since the 1904 games in St. Louis, as the final torch bearer before the cauldron was lit. The final such festival, however, was held the following year in Denver.

Local News clip - Preview of Opening Ceremony

CBS coverage of Gymnastics

PRIME coverage of Gymnnastics

CBS coverage of Figure Skating

 

[panamfan]

1995 United States Olympic Festival
Denver
Dates: July 22-31, 1995
Opened by: Roy Romer, Governor of the State of Colorado
Final Torchbearers: Dot Richardson (softball) and Nigel Traverso (field hockey)
Athletes Oath: 
Officials Oath:
Athletes: 3600
Sports: 36

TV: CBS and PRIME Network
Hours: CBS 7 1/2 PRIME 21 TOTAL 28 1/2
Host:
    CBS Andrea Joyce
    PRIME Barry Tompkins

Saturday July 22  -- 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM CBS
    CBS Sports Show. Scheduled: U.S. Olympic Festival - Boxing and Figure Skating from Colorado Springs, Col. (Live)
          -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Opening Ceremonies, Diving, Swimming, From Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Sunday July 23      -- 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM CBS
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Boxing and Figure Skating
          -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Gymnastics, Swimming and Diving. From Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Monday July 24      -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Swimming and Women's Volleyball. From Denver. (Live)
Tuesday July 25      -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Diving and Men's Volleyball. From Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Wednesday July 26 -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Men's Basketball and Weightlifting from Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Thursday July 27  -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Figure Skating, Boxing, Canoeing, from Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Friday July 28  -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Track and Field and Wrestling. From Denver. (Same-day Tape)
Saturday July 29  -- 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CBS
    CBS Sports Show. Scheduled: U.S. Olympic Festival - Figure Skating from Denver, Men's Gymnastics from Boulder, Colo. (Live)
          -- 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM PRIME
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Track and Field and Water Polo. (Same-day Tape)
Sunday July 30      -- 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM CBS
    Gymnastics - Women
    Gymnastics - Men - Individual Finals
    Figure Skating
    Boxing
          -- 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM PRIME    
    U.S. Olympic Festival: Scheduled - Track and Field and Gymnastics (Live)

THE WASHINGTON POST
OPENING CEREMONIES LIGHT FESTIVAL'S FIRE 
By Johnny Ludden
July 22, 1995

The 1995 Olympic Festival kicked off tonight with an extravagant opening ceremony featuring spectacular fireworks, a performance by singer Kenny Loggins and a parade of about 3,600 athletes, drawing an estimated 25,000 spectators to Mile High Stadium.
On a day when the event lost another of its top draws -- gymnast Doni Thompson -- and on the night before the U.S. Olympic Committee's executive committee meets to discuss the festival's future, the opening ceremony turnout was not anything to celebrate.
Last year's festival drew a record 82,000 to its free opening ceremony in St. Louis, and San Antonio attracted 62,702 paying spectators in 1993. The lowest turnout came in the event's first year when 2,000 people came free to Colorado Springs in 1978. Back then, there were no seats for the spectators and folding chairs were provided for the 1,900 athletes.

There were plenty of seats available tonight at Mile High Stadium, which has room for about 76,000. Although the official attendance was listed at 41,105 tonight, including tickets sold, officials and athletes, many people with tickets decided to skip the ceremony. Those who did show watched the athletes dressed in red, white and blue and divided by state, stream into the stadium on the first of 10 days of competition in 36 sports at sites in Boulder, Colorado Springs and here.
John Naber, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, served as master of ceremonies and USOC President LeRoy Walker and Festival '95 co-chairmen Roger Ogden and Tim Leiweke addressed the crowd before Colorado Gov. Roy Romer officially declared the competition open.
Following the athletes' and officials' oath the festival cauldron was lit by Dot Richardson, a softball player, and Nigel Traverso, a men's field hockey player. Loggins entertained for about an hour followed by a fireworks display. The ceremony ended with the Colorado Children's Choir and the National Repertory Orchestra performing as the athletes left.

"You will see, I am sure, many of the Atlanta participants here this week," Walker told the spectators. "We think the road to Atlanta begins right here in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs."
It doesn't for Thompson, who withdrew today because of a pulled muscle in her lower back. The 14-year-old, who won five medals, including the all-around title at last year's festival, has been on the U.S. national team for three years and is a strong candidate to compete next year in Atlanta. UCLA guard Tobi Bailey also was scratched from the festival today. Bailey, who was probably the biggest name among the festival's basketball players, will play overseas in another tournament for USA Basketball.
Competition began this morning when the East rallied from a two-game deficit to beat the South, 9-15, 11-15, 16-14, 15-13, 15-12, in a 7 a.m. men's volleyball match, joining rowing, team handball, tennis and diving as the only sports in action on the first day.

The games will pick up Saturday as Fort Washington's Derrick Delmore attempts to defend his title in junior men's figure skating. Delmore will go up against California's Trifun Zivanovic and Michigan's Ryan Jahnke, both of whom finished ahead of Delmore in the 1995 U.S. Championships. Alaska's Sydne Vogel, the 16-year-old U.S. junior champion and a candidate for the '98 Winter Games, will try to hold off Georgia's Brittney McConn in junior women's figure skating.
"This is a big competition for me," said Vogel, who is aiming for the 1998 Winter Olympics. "This is a big step."
The District's Demarcus "Chop Chop" Corley, the national Golden Gloves champion, will try to climb up USA Boxing's rankings when he fights in the light welterweight division Saturday as boxing starts with semifinals in six weight divisions. Finals in two diving and six swimming events also take place Saturday.

CBS coverage of Gymnastics

PRIME coverage of Gymnastics

CBS coverage of Figure Skating