BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 6
Trend:
September will be kicked off with the EC meeting of European Gymnastics in Lausanne, Farid Gayibov, European Gymnastics President said, Trend reports citing his statement.
"Now that the restful days following the Olympic Games have come to an end, it is time to turn a new page for the next cycle. We must analyse the previous term and look for things we can improve in the near future to improve our performance and our environment.
The Executive Committee (EC) meeting of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) held in the videoconference format (August 18 & 19) summed up the results of the Games and launched discussions on future plans.
Several decisions were made concerning the allocation of FIG competitions and the meetings of its Authorities in 2022, the process of the organisation of the Judges’ Courses and date changes for some future events.
September will be kicked off with the EC meeting of European Gymnastics in Lausanne (September 10-12), which will be followed by several events.
Pesaro (ITA) aims to be in the spotlight as it hosts the 12th European Championships in Aerobic Gymnastics (September 17-19), the 11th European Age Group Competitions (September 23-26) and the 30th European Championships (September 29 – October 3) in Acrobatic Gymnastics. Following Pesaro, Rethymno (GRE) will take the baton to host the 7th Golden Age Gym Festival on October 3-8, which was postponed from last year. The last European gymnastics competition – the postponed 2020 European TeamGym Championships (13th edition) will take place in Guimaraes (POR) on December 1-4.
Unfortunately, there will still be some restrictions in the arrangements due to the implementation of preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus. We already have sufficient experience in the organisation of events under the current circumstances. Nevertheless, we continuously update our Guidelines for competitions held during the pandemic in order to have safer conditions, and, at the same time, to conform the changing situation.
The European gymnasts will also still join four more major competitions this year – the FIG World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics (October 18-24) and Rhythmic Gymnastics (October 27-31) in Kitakyushu (JPN), as well as in Trampoline Gymnastics (November 18-21) in Baku (AZE) followed by the FIG World Age Group Competitions (November 25-28).
Before Worlds in Baku, the 83rd FIG Congress in Antalya (November 5-7) will define the new FIG Authorities.
We already had a meeting with representatives of the European Gymnastics member Federations where we discussed the FIG elections. We plan to hold another one soon. The aim of these meetings is to discuss the candidates nominated from Europe and its strategy at the forthcoming elections. We need to choose the right candidates which will be able to make their fair contribution to the Authority they are part of. According to my personal observation, unfortunately, not all the elected people take an active part in the discussions leading to certain decisions. What we now need is to speak out, to actively express our opinion, to deliberate and to be active in the work for the sake of the future of Gymnastics.
As we know there is a constant competition between sports in terms of popularity and number of participants. We must evolve with time and adjust to the environment in order to remain competitive. Implementation of various programs, including the educational ones will facilitate the progress of the National Federations. The new approach should be inclusive, fair and regulated with clear guidelines. A document with exact regulations is a must for good governance and consequent transparency.
During the meeting dedicated to the FIG elections, we also discussed my candidature to the FIG presidency. This was a great opportunity for me to explain and discuss my vision and my plan for the next cycle to the European member Federations. Representatives of other continents have also shown the interest in my quadrennial plan and I made a promise to share it with everyone. The plan is also available on the FIG official website. I am frequently asked the question “why has the Embassy of the country you represent not reached out to our Federation to give more information about your candidature” seems strange to me. My first thought is that I represent the Members of the Continental Union and Gymnastics as a sport. In my opinion the world’s Gymnastics community has sufficient information for making the choice they think is beneficial for our sport.
When the end goal is clear the path will lay itself. To move forward we have to be present, inclusive, transparent, hardworking and love our sport… Just like our Gymnasts!," the statement said.