14th Gymnasiade
Doha (QAT), December 7 - 12, 2009

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 3, 2009: Almost two thousand of the world’s most talented young athletes will be coming to Doha (QAT) to take part in the Doha Gymnasiade 2009 from December 7 - 12, an essential competition for young sporting champions on the road to international success.

The first edition of the event was held 1974 in Florence (ITA), as a multi-sport games organised for athletes in the under 18 age group and it was originally held biannually. However, since 1990, the event has been held every 4 years.

Students between the ages of 13-17 from more than 40 nations across the world will be competing this December in athletics, swimming and gymnastics at the Aspire Zone sport venues.

The event is organised by the Doha Gymnasiade 2009 Organising Committee (DGOC) in close collaboration with the Education Supreme Council, the Qatar Olympic Committee and the International School Sport Federation. In the first event of its kind in the Middle East, the next generation of Olympic heroes and world record holders will come together in a celebration of sporting excellence and cultural understanding.

The competition is a demonstration of Qatar’s commitment to the pursuit of sporting excellence and youth development. The Aspire Dome has been chosen as the venue for the competitions in Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics.

Khaleel Al Jabir, Director General, Doha Gymnasiade 2009 Organising Committee, described the event as the perfect example of Qatar’s sporting goals. “The Doha Gymnasiade 2009 is a display of the best next-generation athletes and we are determined to play a part in exactly this sort of event. This is an exhibition of world class talent, an exhibition of world class facilities and a great opportunity for the young people of the Middle East to see what they can achieve. We are providing the region’s youth with all the resources one could possibly want, and more than that, we are instilling the inspiration, the motivation and the pride necessary to make a world class athlete.”

“To see the discipline and commitment of these international students is a great way to understand just how much effort is required, and by hosting and competing in these events, our own young athletes will draw an immense amount of knowledge and experience,” Al Jabir added.

Qatar has a global reputation for hosting international sporting events including the Asian Games 2006, and Doha has become an inherent stopover on the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series. The first events were sucessfully staged in 2008 and 2009, and the next edition is coming up in March 2010.

(Source: DGOC / adapt. FIG)

Event website

Competition Schedules:
Artistic Gymnastics
Rhythmic Gymnastics