Swiss Cup 2009
Zurich (SUI), November 1, 2009

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, October 28, 2009: Two weeks after the World Championships in London, the world’s elite in Artistic Gymnastics will gather at Zurich’s Hallenstadion, November 1, 2009, to battle it out in pairs. A world class event, the Swiss Cup is associated with spirit, power, elegance, grace, precision and, above all, sport and entertainment at their best.

With only a few days left, the Organising Committee, headed up by Jürg Stahl, reports the sale of 5,000 tickets and organisers are expecting more than 7,000 spectators. After a premiere edition in 2006, also at the Hallenstadion, this international competition has become a high-level event. A palette of star gymnasts will be there, notably recent medallist Ariella Kaeslin, the first Swiss woman to win a medal at an Artistic Gymnastics world championship event. Also attending, twice World Champion Marian Dragulescu (ROU), who captured a Gold medal on Floor and Vault. And despite the injuries of star players such as Fabian Hambüchen (GER), fourteen world championship finalists will travel to the Hallenstadion on November 1st.

How a team cup unfolds

The Swiss Cup is a pairs competition that presents one male and one female gymnast per nation. Much like a traditional Cup, the winning team is designated after a preliminary, semi-final and final round. The two gymnasts from each team contend one after another, their team score determined by adding their two individual scores. Apart from a few restrictions, they can choose which apparatus they want to use at each stage. The four finalist pairs move on to the final with their scores set back to zero. The 4th ranked pair is eliminated first. The winner of the Swiss Cup Zurich is the team presenting the highest total number of points from the final. Suspense through to the end!

Participation Line-up

Star athletes not to miss at Zurich’s Hallenstadion (all changes reserved):
(Female / Male gymnast of each nation)

Switzerland 1: Ariella Kaeslin / Niki Böschenstein
Switzerland 2: Linda Stämpfli / Daniel Groves
China: He Ning / Fuliang Liang
Germany: Kim Bui / Matthias Fahrig
France: Pauline Morel / Cyril Tommasone
Italy: Serena Licchetta / Enrico Pozzo
Canada: Cynthia Lemieux-Guillemette / Casey Sandy
The Netherlands: Mayra Kroonen / Jeffrey Wammes
Romania: Anamaria Tamirjan / Marian Dragulescu
Russia: Xenia Afanasyewa / Sergej Chorochordin
Ukraine: Jana Demjantschyk / Mykola Kuxenkow
Brazil: has withdrawn, replacement to be determined

As the host country, Switzerland brings two teams to the competition.
For more information visit http://www.swiss-cup.ch/

(source: STV-FSG; translation FIG)