National pole sports championships return to Tucson for gravity-defying athletics

The U.S. Pole Sports Federation kicks off its annual championships on Friday at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway. The competition runs through Sunday.

Tickets for the family-friendly three-day event can be purchased online in advance through tucne.ws/uspsf. Tickets start at $45.

So, what exactly are pole sports? 

We had the same question for USPSF president Katrina Wyckoff.

“There are so many amazing and wonderful types of pole, and we celebrate all of those types of pole and all of the different types of where they've come from,” she said. “Pole sports, as we see it within the competition today, is very much if you would think about something that you might see as like Cirque du Soleil or something along the lines of vertical gymnastics that's taking place or gymnastics that's taking place on a vertical pole, the pieces are quite artistic, and there is a certain element of dance that's involved. 

“But I think gymnastics on a vertical pole is a very straightforward way to talk about pole sports.”

This year’s national championships will bring over 100 athletes from across the country to compete in the prestigious competition.

This is the fifth time the championships have made their way to Tucson. The event has previously been held in places like Las Vegas, Florida and Georgia.

“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the athletes,” Wyckoff said. “This is such a beautiful community of people and watching their progress. Many of these athletes compete year after year after year, and so seeing their evolution as they have truly become some of the top athletes, not just in pole, but I would say in any sport and the amazing things that they can do. Watching their evolution, and then there will also be some first-time competitors, and so it'll be so fun to see them and watch their journey on the stage.”

In addition to this weekend’s pole competition, athletes will compete on several apparatuses, according to Wyckoff, including aerial silks, aerial hoops, aerial hammock and flying pole.

Several age groups will compete in the amateur and competitive divisions, performing routines they have perfected to the sounds of spoken poems or even The Beatles, for example.

Within the divisions, the top three will qualify for a spot on Team USA, which will then compete on the international level later this year.

“If someone comes out and watches this, especially for the first time, it is going to blow their mind,” Wyckoff said. “They are going to be so entertained and so inspired, and it is some of the best shows. It will be one of the best shows they've ever seen. Just being able to see what the human body is capable of at this level is so fun and it's just a great show. Also, the entertainment value is just there. It's really great.”

The USPSF is based right here in Tucson and is currently run by Wyckoff, a native Tucsonan and owner of Vertica Fitness.

Wyckoff was once a competitor herself, competing with Team USA at the national championships (and winning the title), along with competing at the world championships and presenting in front of the International Olympic Committee.

The USPSF is working to bring pole sport to the Olympics in the future.

Wyckoff began pole sport over a decade ago after walking by a pole studio and deciding to stick her hands up to the window to peek inside. 

What she saw changed her life.

“There were people of all different ages and races and genders and certainly people of different body types and they were flying through the air,” she said. “... I was like, ‘That's where I belong.’ And I just kind of really took to it really naturally, not necessarily by anything besides it felt so good to be able to move my body and to really celebrate what it could do instead of just how it looked, and that's where so much of the magic comes from.”

Tucson has a huge pole sport community with thousands of members that’s thriving, according to Wyckoff. Around 20 athletes from Arizona will compete in this weekend’s event.

After the Team USA roster is finalized at the national championships, the team will compete in the Pole Sports & Arts World Federation’s global championships. This year, the championships are being held in Italy, South Korea, Finland and Greece. 

“I really love pole sport in general because of the inclusivity,” Wyckoff said. “I love how we just welcome people from all different backgrounds and types and then there's this huge focus on what the body can do. And so, as far as doing these amazing tricks where people are defying gravity, they're pushing the limits as far as what's possible, and that's really what speaks to me: the celebration of the human potential, and along with that, the celebration of the community as a whole.”