July 1, 2008

Chicago, Ill. - Butch Zunich, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MS in Computer Science - 1980 and MBA - 1982), will judge the men's gymnastics competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Zunich is proud to be one of the 50 judges selected worldwide by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). He will serve as the Head Judge on the Floor Exercise event and is one of only two judges selected from the United States to judge the Olympics, which begin August 8th.

Zunich has previously judged a total of 7 World Championships as well as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. This experience was instrumental in his final appointment to judge this year's Olympic Games. He has also served as the Technical Director of Officials at both the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim. In preparation for the Olympic Games, USA Gymnastics appointed Zunich as the Head Judge on the Pommel Horse event at the USA Men's Olympic Team Trials, which were held in Philadelphia, PA from June 19-21.

Zunich was a two-time NCAA All-American gymnast for the Fighting Illini on the Pommel Horse, securing a 2nd Place finish during the 1979 season and placing 4th overall in 1980. After his competitive career, Zunich entered the judging field, where been a certified international Brevet Judge since 1985. He was enshrined into the National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame in 2003.

Zunich presently resides in Champaign, IL with his wife Lori and three children.

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.