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AGF distinguished itself with successful competitions amid COVID-19 - European Gymnastics president

Society Materials 8 June 2021 16:58 (UTC +04:00)
AGF distinguished itself with successful competitions amid COVID-19 - European Gymnastics president

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Successful competitions were held by Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation (AGF) after a long interval, and as usual, AGF distinguished itself with a new idea, this time obliged by the circumstances connected with the pandemic, Farid Gayibov, European Gymnastics President said, Trend reports citing his statement.

"In early May, impressed by the competitions of the European Championships held in two gymnastics disciplines in a row, I set out for my native city. Baku hosted the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup on May 7-9. Successful competitions were held by Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation (AGF) after a long interval," he said.

"As usual, AGF distinguished itself with a new idea, this time obliged by the circumstances connected with the pandemic: the use of drones for the medals’ presentation at this event made an appearance in a number of popular TV channels across the world. It was great to see our sport in the news and on major social media platforms, and I am convinced that such exposure will drive further innovation and the popularity of Gymnastics. We need to work in this direction. Our Gymnastics stars should have more TV exposure to enhance further development of our sport globally," Gayibov said.

"The 9th World Age Group Competitions and the 16th World Championships in Aerobic Gymnastics followed the Rhythmic Gymnastics event in Baku. These competitions were postponed from last year. At last, the Aerobic Gymnastics family members met in Baku. They were happy and very optimistic about the future. The events were quite successful. In general, this was the first World Championships in this discipline organised in the pandemic period. This year, we will also have the 12th European Aerobic Championships in Pesaro (ITA) on September 17-19," he noted.

Gayibov noted he had the opportunity to visit Bucharest (ROU), where the 20th Anniversary edition of the Irina Deleanu Cup was held.

"I would like to congratulate the founder of this event, medalist of European and World Championships Irina Deleanu on this Anniversary. Every year, rhythmic gymnasts gather in Bucharest to take part in this prestigious event. I am confident that this tradition will continue for many years to come," he said.

"My next destination was Cairo. I attended the African Championships in Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on May 26 & 27. I was pleased to see the high organisation level and the great work carried out by the Egyptian Gymnastics Federation. I congratulate the Gymnastics Federations of Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa with their Olympic qualifications," said Gayibov.

He said that another historic moment for Africa is the organisation of the FIG World Challenge Cup in Artistic Gymnastics held on May 3-6 for the first time.

"I am confident that this event, also organised at a high level, met all of our expectations," he said. "Amid competitions, I also took part in the videoconference of the Executive Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) on May 19 followed by the FIG Council on May 20-21. It was the first time the FIG Council unconventionally was held online. Along with the approval of the 2021 budget, the revised Code of Discipline and the provisional affiliation of some Federations, the Olympic Qualification System for Paris 2024 was discussed and the allocation of the 2025 World Championships which will further be approved by the relevant Authorities," Gayibov said.

"This year we have also extended our contract with our partners at Smart Scoring. I would like to congratulate them and thank them for all the effort and work they have invested in the development of Gymnastics," he said. "As we can see, we had many events in May, most of which I was able to attend. This means that life is returning to normal and we are getting back to routine. Now we must use this time to reset and change gears to make up for lost time and double our efforts for the development of our sport."

"I wish our gymnasts luck, who are yet to be qualified, to find themselves on the start list of the Tokyo 2020 gymnastics events," Gayibov said.

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