Exclusive Coverage of the 2006 Artistic World Gymnastics Championships to Premiere on WCSN.com

Exclusive Coverage of the 2006 Artistic World Gymnastics Championships to Premiere on WCSN.com

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Bart Conner to Provide Live Commentary as Top International Gymnasts Compete in Prelude to Beijing 2008

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) announced today that the company will exclusively present live and on-demand coverage of the 2006 Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) Artistic World Championships from Aarhus, Denmark, Oct. 17 - Oct. 21. Gymnastics fans will be able to watch unprecedented coverage on WCSN.com with exclusive commentary provided by two-time Olympic champion Bart Conner.

"The World Championships marks the best gymnastics has to offer in competition at the international level," said Conner. "It is my great pleasure to be part of the WCSN team to elevate the visibility of this under-served sport that is practiced and followed by many internationally."

More than 1,400 gymnasts from more than 70 countries will compete for medals in 14 events.

"We're thrilled to partner with FIG to bring exclusive coverage to such an important and prestigious gymnastics event," said Claude Ruibal, chairman and CEO of WCSN. "We take pride in being a convenient, one-stop destination for delivering international and Olympic sports coverage to our fans."

Featured in the women's competition will be team gymnastics and the all-around, as well as individual competitions on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. The men's events include the same team and all-around competitions, as well as individual events on floor, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.

"WCSN's webcast of the World Championships will allow fans to follow U.S. athletes and others from around the world vie for a world title," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "Fans can either watch it live or view the archived footage at their leisure. This is a great opportunity for fans to witness the world's best gymnasts going head-to-head and to cheer on the U.S. Team."

Team USA's women are poised to bring home top honors, and are currently are ranked first in the world. At the 2005 World Championships, the team turned in the most dominant performance by a country since 1987, winning nine total medals -- four gold, four silver and one bronze. The team hopes to recapture last year's achievement with another strong squad led by 2005 world champions Chellsie Memmel, Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone. Also on the U.S. women's team are 2005 World Team members Jana Bieger, Jacquelyn Johnson, Natasha Kelley and Ashley Priess.

The U.S. men's team also hopes to make an impact on the world stage with a promising lineup led by Alexander Artemev, the 2006 U.S. all-around champion, and Jonathan Horton, the 2006 NCAA all-around and Tyson American Cup champion. Also on the men's squad are Guillermo Alvarez, David Sender, Clay Strother, Kevin Tan and alternate David Durante.

FIG Artistic World Gymnastics Championships is just one of many sports exclusives found only on WCSN.com. For $4.95 a month, viewers have instant access to world class sports and championship events including, skiing, cycling, track and field, volleyball and more.

The live event schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Team Finals - Men
1:00 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. ET

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Team Finals - Women
1:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. ET

Thursday, October 19, 2006
All-Around Finals - Men & Women
9:30 a.m. - 3:35 p.m. ET

Friday, October 20, 2006
Individual Finals
Men - Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings
Women - Uneven Bars, Vault
1:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. ET

Saturday, October 21, 2006
Individual Finals
Men - Vault, Parallel Bars, High Bar
Women - Beam, Floor
8:30 a.m - 11:45 a.m. ET

In addition to the live webcasts on WCSN.com, highlights of the events will be cablecast on WCSN's weekly television series, World Championship Sports on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast Local in Detroit, Comcast SportsNet West, Comcast/Charter Sports SouthEast, Comcast SportsNet Mid Atlantic, CN8, CNW14 and SportsNet New York.

For a comprehensive list of events and schedules, please visit WCSN.com

Source: World Championship Sports Network

CONTACT: James Park of Bob Gold and Associates, +1-310-784-1040,
james@bobgoldpr.com, for WCSN

Web site: http://www.wcsn.com/

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