For the first time, the Yoga National Championships are stretching to Happy Valley

This weekend, an event that takes a common exercise to its most extreme will be coming to Happy Valley for the first time, with one local official calling it a “significant milestone” for the region.

The 21st annual United States Yoga 2025 National Championship will take place from Aug. 1-3 at The State Theatre in downtown State College, 130 W. College Ave., marking the first time that the event has been held in Centre County.

More than 100 skilled yoga practitioners from across the country have registered for this year’s championships, which will see the athletes compete for 14 different titles across seven different age groups, split into men’s and women’s categories.

Youth participants get three age divisions to compete in — 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17. Adult competitors get four divisions — 18-34, 35-49, 50-64, and 65+.

“Hosting the USA Yoga 2025 National Championship is an incredible honor and a significant milestone for Happy Valley,” Happy Valley Sports & Entertainment Alliance Executive Director Eric Englebarts wrote in an email. “It underscores our region’s growing reputation as a premier destination for diverse and high-caliber sporting and wellness events.

“This championship not only brings some of the nation’s most dedicated athletes and yoga prectitioners to our community, but it also highlights our commitment to embracing inclusive, wellness-focused programming.”

But the yoga that will be on display at the championships isn’t anything like the yoga that your mother does every Saturday at the park — these postures are more difficult and require years of training to master, with some requiring serious (and several) bodily contortions.

How does the competition work?

Each athlete will have three minutes to perform, and hold, six different yoga postures from six different compulsory posture groups — balance, forward compression, tractions, twists, lifts and inversions.

According to the USA Yoga rules website, an athlete can perform the postures in any order they’d like, but must submit their chosen order at the time of registration and follow that chosen order in their performance.

While the athletes work through their postures, a panel of judges will give each one a score out of 10, for a maximum score of 60 points. Each posture will be judged based on its displayed characteristics of balance, flexibility and strength, with a score multiplier being automatically carried out for each move’s degree of difficulty.

Points can be deducted from an athlete’s score for a multitude or reasons, including failure to complete all of the postures within the time period given, failure to complete the postures in their submitted order, failure to complete a posture that includes one of the outlined characteristics and failure to complete one or more of the compulsory poses.

If an athlete falls out of posture, a “second chance” opportunity is provided, but the maximum amount of points for that posture falls from 10 to five.

In the case of a tiebreaker, the winner will be the athlete with the highest percentage of execution, or the highest ratio of the athlete’s total average score, divided by the maximum points that an athlete could have achieved in that routine.

According to Engelbarts, the unique nature of the competition and the extreme contortions that each athlete will carry out has already piqued the curiosity of residents.

“Competitive yoga is something many people haven’t seen before, and that curiosity has sparked a lot of positive buzz,” Engelbarts said. “We’ve had local residents, fitness groups and even those new to yoga express interest in learning more — how it works, what the athletes train for and what it takes to compete at a national level. People want to see it in action.”

Those looking to attend this weekend’s championships can purchase tickets online for the entire competition starting at $32.66, with day tickets costing $20, if purchased in-person at The State Theatre’s box office. Tickets for the finals can also be purchased online, starting at $21.72.

Following the completion of the year’s championships, Engelbarts is hoping that more events like it will eventually be hosted in the area.

“[Yoga and wellness] events are increasingly in demand as communities across the country look to support holistic health and wellness,” Engelbarts wrote. “Moreover, this aligns with our broader strategy of diversifying the types of events we bring to the region. Sport yoga has the potential to be a long-term asset to our event calendar — not only for its competitive appeal but for the wellness culture it promotes within our community.”

More information about the competition, which runs from Friday-Sunday, can be found on USA Yoga’s Facebook page and website, or on the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau’s website. A schedule for each age group can also be found on USA Yoga’s website.