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Kami Miyoko Amemiya-Shows was born on September 24, 1997 in Orange, California. She is the only child of Damon "Denny" Shows and Midori Amemiya-Shows. Kami's dad, Denny, was an All-American in Track and Field at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He trained for the 1988 Olympics as a Decathlete. Kami's mom, Midori, is a Japanese Nationalist. Currently, Kami is an "A" honor roll student at Warm Springs Middle School.
At the age of three, Kami's dad put her in gymnastics because she would not stop tumbling and playing on home furniture and staircase. She was so daring and her parents nicknamed her "Danger Baby." Therefore, Kami began gymnastics at Majestic Dolphins under coaches Mrs. Tonya Davis and Laura Dunkerson. When Kami was a level 4-6, she trained under coach Vicky Galeano.
Kami began competing in 2003 as a level four. She finished third on floor exercise at the San Diego Classic. She was Level 4 State Champion. In the fall of 2005, she competed as a level six. At the First Prelim, she finished second in the all-around and first on vault. At the 2nd Prelim, she won vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and the all-around titles. Kami then won vault and the all-around titles at the 3rd Prelim. At the East Sectionals, she won the all-around as well as first on vault and floor exercise. Kami then won another all-around title at the Level 6 State Championships.
After Kami's 2006 season, she began training at SCEGA under coaches Kathy Strate, Meredith Paulicivic and Luis Garcia. In 2007, Kami won vault, uneven bars, floor exercise and the all-around titles at the Lady Luck Invitational as a level seven. She finished fifth in the all-around and first on floor exercise at the Hall of Fame Invitational. At the San Diego Classic, she placed second in the all-around and first on floor exercise. Kami then won the all-around and floor exercise titles at the California Classic and Top Flight Invitational. At the Level 7 State Championships, she placed third in the all-around, first on vault and second on floor exercise.
Kami skipped level eight and competed as a level nine in 2008. At the Crystal Cup, she placed first on vault, uneven bars, floor exercise as well as in the all-around. She then won vault, balance beam and floor exercise titles at the Surf City Classic. At the California Classic, she finished second on vault and floor exercise. Kami finished third in the all-around and second on vault and balance beam at the Heart of a Champion Invitational. That same year, Kami qualified to hopes pre-elite where she finished ninth overall at the US Challenge.
Her scores greatly improved in 2009. She won vault and the all-around at the Lady Luck Invitational. At the san Diego Classic, she won vault and placed second all-around. At the Level 9 Regional Championships, she finished third on vault and in the all-around. There, she qualified to the Level 9 Western Championships where she finished 14th overall. At the end of June, she re-qualified to hopes pre-elite. At the US Challenge in Des Moines, Iowa, she placed tenth overall as well as fifth on vault.
So far in 2010, Kami placed fifth in the all-around and second on uneven bars at the San Diego Classic. She then placed third on uneven bars and balance beam at the SCEGA's California Classic. In March, Kami finished third in the all-around with a 37.575 as well as first on balance beam at the Byers Invitational. At the Level 10 SoCal State Championships, she won the all-around title as well as first on uneven bars and floor exercise. Kami then tied for eighth place in the all-around and second on uneven bars at the Level 10 Regional Championships. There, was the first alternate for the Junior Olympic Nationals. One week before the JO Nationals, a gymnast dropped out of the meet due to an injury. Kami got an opportunity to compete in the competition, where she finished 20th on floor exercise with a 9.400. Unfortunately, Kami was unable to do her last event, balance beam, where she pulled her hamstring during the warm-ups.
Currently, Kami trains over 35 hours a week at SCEGA under coaches Luis Garcia (vault & bars coach), Kathy Strate (beam coach) and Merideth Paulicivic (floor & beam coach/choreographer). She aspires to make the Junior US National Team by 2011 and Senior National Team by 2013.