Congratulations Steve!

Steve Butcher to Judge 2012 Olympic Games- Gymnastics

Resident of Knoxville, TN selected for this most prestigious honor

October 20, 2008 (Chicago, IL) – Steve Butcher, a resident of Knoxville, TN will judge the men’s gymnastics competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.  The top six judges in the world and their technical president were elected on Saturday at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Congress in Helsinki, Finland.  These six gentlemen and their committee president will comprise the FIG Men’s Technical Committee. They will act as the apparatus supervisors for the 2012 Olympic Games and 2009-2011 World Championships. 

Steve Butcher will be assigned a specific apparatus in December and will have the tremendous responsibility of acting as the “chief judge” for the world on that event through the 2012 Olympic Games.  Butcher is only the third American to serve on the in the 100 year history of the FIG.  There were 87 countries that casted their votes to select the members of this committee in Helsinki, with Butcher finishing third for the six available positions. 

There are other significant responsibilities for Butcher as well.  He was appointed the position of secretary for the Men’s Technical Committee.  He will also oversee other major competitions throughout the world as the technical director, present international judging courses, and provide leadership within USA Gymnastics program as an advisor to the Board of Directors and member of the Men’s Program Committee. 

Butcher judged the 2008 Olympic Games this past summer in Beijing, China as well as the last two World Championships (2005 and 2007).  In addition, he has been responsible for overseeing men’s gymnastics competitions between the countries of North, Central and South America since 2003, including the Pan American Games.  This experience, in addition to his position as the president of the Pan American Gymnastics Union’s Men’s Technical Committee, was instrumental in his election to the one of the top judging positions in the world.

Within the gymnastics community Butcher is well known as the junior coach of 1996 Olympian gymnast John Macready, also a Knoxville resident. He has also been a USA Jr. National Team coach from 1991-2004, while training dozens of gymnasts, male and female, that have attended college on gymnastics scholarships.

Butcher is the Director of Gymnastics Operations and Regional Manager for Premier Athletics based in Knoxville, a subsidiary of Varsity Brands with over 20 gymnastics and cheerleading gyms throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States.

About the NGJA:
The National Gymnastics Judges Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the gymnastics community by performing services relating to the evaluation and judgment of gymnastics performances. The NGJA aims to improve the quality of gymnastics judging by providing rules interpretations (aligned with the International Gymnastics Federation), certification clinics, and recommendations of judges for national and international competitions in conjunction with USA Gymnastics, the national governing body of the sport. 

Visit www.ngja.org for more information on the NGJA or to become a gymnastics judge.