BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 15
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The 2021 events calendar of European Gymnastics comprises of eight events in total, five of which were originally planned to be held this year, whilst the other three were postponed from 2020, European Gymnastics President Farid Gayibov said, Trend reports citing the European Gymnastics website.
Gayibov said that one of the main tasks is to organize these competitions ensuring safe conditions for all participants. The cooperation in this direction with all the Local Organizing Committees (LOC) of the European Championships has begun already.
“The Europeans organized at the end of 2020 armed us with experience, knowledge and confidence to further improve the environment in which we host our events. The guidelines for the return to competitions with the COVID-19 pandemic is also an essential document guiding us at all stages of preparation,” he said.
“On February 24 & 25, I took part in the Executive Committee meeting of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). Following the discussions and deliberations, modifications were made to the FIG Technical Regulations and we approved the World / Challenge Cup Rules for the Artistic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics. We also decided that the next meeting of the FIG Council would be held in a videoconference format due to the current global restrictions,” Gayibov said.
The FIG has already opened registration for its 83rd Congress to be held in Antalya (TUR) on November 5-7 this year, he noted. The Congress is a significant event of the 2021 Calendar, not only for the FIG, but also for its Continental Unions and its entire member Federations, as the elections are held within its framework.
“Today, 1/3 of the FIG affiliated Federations are referred to our continent as 50 from 152 Federations represent European countries. We are not only the biggest continent represented in global Gymnastics, but we also boast of being the most active one. Therefore, the decisions made during the Congress are very important for European Gymnastics,” he said.
“After June 2, a list of candidates for the FIG Authorities will be available. We will need to analyse and conduct the deliberations in order to define the best of them to certain positions. The majority of the candidates from Europe we know well. However, a close study of their qualifications will serve us well before these candidates occupy positions at the FIG. We must fill positions with representatives that would benefit both FIG and their continents,” he said.
“The work carried out before the elections will contribute to the formation of the new strategy for the new Olympic cycle, which will last 3 years for the first time due to the pandemic,” Gayibov added.