Games of the XXX Olympiad
London (GBR), July 27 – August 12, 2012

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, February 10, 2012: The draw of the FIG Olympic competitions will be conducted on February 24, 2012, 1:00 pm at the FIG headquarters in Lausanne (SUI). All four Technical Presidents, representing Men’s & Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline Gymnastics will attend and supervise the draw.

According to the quota allocated by the IOC, Gymnastics will be represented in London (GBR) with a total of 324 athletes: 98x2 for Artistic, 96 for Rhythmic and 32 places for Trampoline Gymnastics.

The FIG, founded in 1881, participated in the Olympic Games since its restoration in 1896.
 

Trampoline Gymnastics Level 3 Academy
Maracaibo (VEN), February 1 – 8, 2012

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, February 9, 2012: Venezuela hosted the 12th Academy for Trampoline Gymnastics and the 120th Academy overall in Maracaibo during the first week of February. This Academy was conducted specifically for the Spanish speaking countries of the Americas and for the coaches who had previously successfully completed Level 1 and Level 2 Academies. The attendance of the coaches from the Spanish speaking federations of the Pan American Gymnastics Union (PAGU) was partially funded by the FIG Development Fund for PAGU.

Once again, this Academy, like all trampoline Academies covered all of the competitive events that are included under the FIG Trampoline competitions: Trampoline, Double Mini-trampoline, and Tumbling.

This Academy was attended by FIG Trampoline athlete representative, Dmitri Poliaroush (BLR), who lives in the USA, and 14 coaches from nine different federations: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

The course leader was Hardy Fink, the Director of FIG Education and Academy Programmes who also taught biomechanics. The technical experts were Nikolai Makarov (RUS), who is President of the Russian Trampoline Federation, Vice President of the FIG Trampoline Technical Committee and a member of the Academy Working Group for Trampoline Gymnastics. He was accompanied by Christophe Lambert (FRA), the national coach of France who likewise is a member of both the FIG Technical Committee and the Academy Working Group. Other experts were Dr. Ignacio Grande of Spain who taught most of the theory lectures, and Tatiana Aguiar of Costa Rica who taught psychology. 

The highest results over the practical and theoretical examinations were achieved by Riguin Zengotita of Puerto Rico followed closely by Carolina Corradi of Argentina. At level 3 Academies, coaches with special experience pre-requisites can earn the FIG Coaching Brevet if they also achieve 85% on the combined theory and practical examinations. None of the coaches at this Academy qualified for this high honour.

Special thanks go to USA Gymnastics for providing their two Olympic gymnasts Savannah Vinsant and Steven Gluckstein who trained hard daily, serving as demonstrators for all the technical lectures and then helped each of the candidate coaches by demonstrating methodological steps and skills for the practical examination. They are both coached by Dmitri Poliaroush who also assisted all of the candidates and volunteered to present a special lecture. This trio from the USA helped make this highest-level Academy a huge success.

Special thanks must go to the President Zobeira Hernandez-Delgado and Technical Director Jorge Sandoval of the Venezuela Gymnastics Federation and to the team of assistants and to the gymnasts who worked diligently every day to help during this third Trampoline Academy in three years. Jose Fermin served as translator for all of the English language lectures.

The FIG Academy Programme is experiencing its busiest month ever this February. Another Trampoline Academy is taking place in Morocco at this time, an Aerobics Academy begins in Colombia immediately after this Academy in Venezuela, an Artistic Gymnastics Academy will take place in mid-month in Egypt overlapping with a Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy in Portugal.

 FIG - Gymnova Lawsuit

Lausanne (SUI), FIG Office, February 1, 2012: In the litigation involving the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and apparatus supplier Gymnova in Marseille (FRA), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has found the appeal lodged by the manufacturer on August 24, 2011 admissible.
 
CAS adjusts its July 31, 2011 decision as follows:

• Recognises Gymnova as guilty of an infringement on the rules stated in appendix 5, chapter 7 of the Auto-disciplinary Code, having "supplied low-grade apparatus for FIG events", notably trampolines with faulty springs and beds for the Trampoline World Championships in Metz (FRA) 2010;Imposes a 2,000 € fine on Gymnova;

• Releases information on said decision on the official FIG website and through all other FIG channels of communication, notably the FIG magazine;

• Divides mediation costs evenly between FIG and Gymnova once set by the CAS Court Office, who will notify by means of a separate letter;

• Rules that the two parties will each bear their own mediation costs;

• Dismisses any and all other submissions by either party.

With the lifting of a two year suspension levied on trampoline certificate number 5270 by the FIG Appeal Tribunal, the model now holds a FIG-recognised certificate and may be used at official FIG events.
 
Gymnova holds a FIG Diploma and is the official supplier for all apparatus utilised in all International Gymnastics Federation disciplines. Fully certified, Gymnova operates as an Official Partner of the FIG; the Federation clarifies that Gymnova's status as such was never questioned.
 

12th Junior Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics Asian Championships
Suphanburi (THA), March 11 – 15, 2012

DOHA (QAT) – LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, January 30, 2012: Strong participation is expected at the 12th Junior Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics Asian Championships in Thailand’s Suphanburi Province, March 11-15, 2012.

Eighteen countries have confirmed their participation in the event, yielding an unexpected total of 348 participants and forcing organisers at the Thailand Gymnastic Association to change the location of both the competition hall and the hotel. Suphanburi Sports School and Songphanburi Hotel have been chosen to host the delegations.

Such a large number of participants is proof of a growing Asian interest in promoting Gymnastics and of a confidence in the Asian Gymnastics Union, which defied all odds and continues to raise the level of Gymnastics across Asia.

Participating countries:

18 countries for Men’s Artistic Gymnastics: Iran – Iraq – Kuwait – Uzbekistan – Korea – Japan – Singapore – Qatar – Vietnam – China – Chinese Taipei – Kazakhstan – Jordan - Sri Lanka – Malaysia – India – Hong Kong, China and Thailand.

15 countries for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics: Iraq – Uzbekistan – Korea – Japan – Singapore – Qatar – Vietnam – Chinese Taipei – Kazakhstan – Jordan - Sri Lanka – Malaysia – India – Hong Kong, China and Thailand.

8 countries for Individual Men’s Trampoline: Iran – Uzbekistan – Korea – Japan – Qatar – Vietnam – China – Kazakhstan.

5 countries for Individual Women’s Trampoline: Japan – Qatar – Vietnam – China – Kazakhstan.

The Artistic Gymnastics tournament consists of a qualifying round, a Team competition, Individual All-Around, and Apparatus Finals, each for men and women; while male and female Trampoline gymnasts will compete in Individual Qualifications and Finals.

February 8, 2012 marks the deadline for nominative entries.

Find the invitation and directives here!

(Source: Asian Gymnastics Union)

Preliminary Feedback on Olympic Test and Qualifying Events

LONDON (GBR), North Greenwich Arena FIG Office, January 18, 2012: Less than 200 days from the opening day of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Prof. Bruno Grandi (ITA), reports on the Test Events that have just drawn to a close as the last and final opportunity to qualify.

He emphasises that the final selective heat is a first for the FIG. “I am pleased that our gymnasts now have a second chance at participation in the Games, an initiative that aims to bring greater justice to the sport. But as with all new concepts, we will need to revisit certain criteria, details, that some feel are still too complicated. Our experience in London will be a great help to us. From a purely sportive standpoint, I am content to say that the values were upheld,” declared the President.

In terms of logistics, the President applauds the London organisers for high-quality event management. “Gymnastics is one of the most closely followed sports in the Olympic Games. I am persuaded that London will provide our gymnasts, the media, the public and our technical staff with an optimal training environment, an efficient reception and impeccable working conditions.”

President Grandi confides that the Finals in Artistic and Trampoline enjoyed spectacular audience success from a media standpoint. “This is the first time that the FIG has independently produced the signal of a Final. We have chosen to embrace a modern philosophy by live broadcasting on our “Gymnastics” You Tube channel. We have integrated social networks into our global communication package, which has proven very successful. I am excited about the prospects. Our new strategy is going to have an impact on the development of all upcoming FIG international competitions. This is an area close to my heart, and one of the objectives behind my campaign for a new mandate at the FIG General Assembly in October,” concluded the President.

From left to right: André F. Gueisbuhler, FIG Secretary General; Paul Deighton, LOCOG Chief Executive Officer; FIG President Prof. Bruno Grandi and Lord Sebastian Coe, Chair of the LOCOG Board.
 

Trampoline Gymnastics 2012 Olympic qualifiers

LONDON (GBR), FIG Office, January 15, 2012: The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announces the Trampoline qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Sixteen spots are available for men and sixteen for women, with gymnasts having qualified their NOCs at the 2011 World Championships in Birmingham (GBR) and the Visa International Gymnastics in January 2012 in London (GBR) as per the attached list.

One nominative invitation place either for a man or a woman is set aside for the Tripartite Commission. This place will be nominated in due course by the Tripartite Commission.

List of Trampoline Gymnastics 2012 Olympic qualifiers 

Opening Press Conference

LONDON (GBR), FIG Office, January 9, 2012: With the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics podium training already under way at the North Greenwich Arena, the international media received their welcome to the Visa International Gymnastics event on Monday at an opening press conference staged by LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton (GBR) and FIG Vice President Slava Corn (CAN).

There are precisely 200 days to go before the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics and Deighton duly emphasised London’s readiness for the Games. The Visa International Gymnastics is the 29th test event of the London Prepares series, the first of 2012 and the biggest one to date with some 300 participating gymnasts and an overall ticket availability of over 40,000.

Satisfied with the public’s interest, the LOCOG CEO reported that most of the ticketed sessions were sold out quickjly, with availability left for the afternoon sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the British Men’s Team will be bidding to qualify.

Corn expressed her delight with the phenomenal media interest in the event as she, welcomed the press representatives back to the impressive London venue that successfully hosted the 2009 Artistic Worlds.

As Corn explained, the event provides an opportunity for LOCOG to test operations ahead of the Games this summer as well as for the gymnasts to get a feel of the venue, and also serves as an Olympic qualifier. For the first time, the gymnastics body is holding a second qualification event for the Olympic Games this year, with the first having been the 2011 World Championships in the three disciplines.

Another first in London will be the live broadcast of the Men’s and Women’s Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics finals on the FIG YouTube channel. And while fans can look forward to more high-quality video clips on YouTube, live scoring will be available on the federation’s event website for the Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions.

In terms of television transmission, the FIG TV crew will produce footage of the event that will be made available to rights-holding broadcasters.

Corn confirmed the registration of a total of 420 media representatives at this event, including 140 representatives of the written press, 101 photographers, and 38 broadcasting companies.

The federation’s Vice President gave credit to the participating delegations, which had to adjust their training schedules for the event as January is usually not a peak time for gymnasts. She confirmed that everything possible was done to ensure the gymnasts’ safety, with the apparatus tested and certified and medical assistance on standby in the arena. The athletes’ health is a high priority for the federation, which runs a successful Academy programme for coaches’ education.

Finally Corn thanked LOCOG Gymnastics Manager Matthew Greenwood and his whole team for their excellent work and cooperation in preparing the event.

The event starts with the qualifiers for the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics on Tuesday at 10:30 am, which will determine the teams and individuals qualifying for the remaining Olympic spots.

NEW PRESIDENT!
Lausanne (SUI) / FIG Office, January 8, 2012: On January 6, 2012, the Portuguese Gymnastics Federation elected Mr João Paulo Oliveira do Nascimento e da Rocha as its President. The election follows the resignation of Manuel Boa de Jesus last November.

The Portuguese Federation, which is extremely active on the international scene, is in a difficult economic situation domestically. This resulted in the cancellation, on December 13, of the renowned Portimao Rhythmic Gymnastics tournament, scheduled for April 2012 and which counts towards the World Cup.

The FIG wishes Portuguese gymnastics and its new President Joao Paulo Rocha a swift return to a more stable economy, and will be pleased to quickly restore their international events to its calendar.phs
 

Visa International Gymnastics – London Prepares Series
London (GBR), January 10 – 18, 2012

LONDON (GBR), FIG Office, January 7, 2012: The eagerly anticipated second Olympic qualifier for Gymnastics will get underway in a mere three days’ time in London’s North Greenwich Arena, starting with the Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics qualification competitions on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

The Visa International Gymnastics event is the last chance for gymnasts to qualify for the London 2012 Games, and as part of the London Prepares Series it enables LOCOG to test crucial aspects of its operations ahead of the Games.

Also known as The O2 and built as the Millennium Dome to house the Millennium Experience exhibition in 2000, the North Greenwich Arena (NGA) will be the backdrop for the test event competitions in all three disciplines. The venue that hosted the 41st Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in 2009 will have a maximum capacity of 16,500 for this event. At Games time, Rhythmic Gymnastics will be hosted at Wembley Arena.

For fans, the main focus in all disciplines will be on the qualification competitions, with participants aiming for an Olympic berth.

Artistic Gymnastics

The event will feature preliminary rounds in Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics on January 10 and 11 respectively to determine the final places at the 2012 Games, and Individual Apparatus Finals on January 12 and 13 to test the field of play, results, timing and scoring systems. The gymnasts will compete in Teams, or as part of a mixed group of Individuals. Both MAG and WAG will qualify four Teams, while a number of spots as needed to fill up the 98 places available at the Olympic Games will be awarded to male and female Individual gymnasts.

In Men’s, the Teams from Japan, USA, China, Germany, Russia, Korea, Romania and Ukraine have already qualified, leaving Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Puerto Rico to battle it out for the four remaining spots.

The Women’s Teams of USA, Russia, China, Romania, Japan, Australia, Germany and Great Britain secured their Olympic qualification at the 2011 Worlds in Tokyo (JPN), leaving it up to Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Korea and the Netherlands to fight for the remaining places.

Trampoline Gymnastics

The Trampoline competition will take place over one day on January 13, with five male and five female gymnasts qualifying their NOCs for the remaining places at the London 2012 Olympic Games during Qualifications. The best eight gymnasts proceed to the Finals at this event.
Eight men and eight women secured Olympic participation for their NOC at the 2011 Worlds in Birmingham (GBR).

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Individuals and Groups take part in separate competitions in Rhythmic Gymnastics. Individual gymnasts perform four routines – hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon, while the Groups perform two – one with five balls, and one with three ribbons and two hoops.

The test event will reward five Individuals (nominative) and four Groups (NOCs) with Olympic berths, joining the 15 Individuals and six Groups who qualified at the 2011 Worlds in Montpellier (FRA).

Qualifications will be held on January 16 and 17 with the Finals scheduled for the 18th. The best ten Individuals as well as all eight participating Groups will proceed to the Finals at this event.

The FIG microsite, including all important information related to the event was launched today at http://londontest2012.fig-gymnastics.com/

See the lists of participants here and get familiar with the general programme:

More than 40,000 tickets were available for the event overall, with seats still available for the Artistic Gymnastics afternoon sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 10 and 11. Click here to purchase yours!

The international media will be welcomed by LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton (GBR) and FIG Vice President Slava Corn (CAN) at an opening press conference at 3pm local time on Monday, January 9, the day that also marks 200 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

Second Olympic Qualification – OG London 2012 Test Event
London Prepares Series
London (GBR), January 10 – 18, 2012

Lausanne (SUI), FIG Office, January 5, 2012: The FIG Executive Committee has approved the list of Rhythmic and Trampoline Gymnastics athletes authorised to participate in the second qualifying event of the London Olympic Games, scheduled for January 11 – 13 and January 14 – 18 respectively in London’s North Greenwich Arena Dome.

Following the qualifying World Championships in 2011, a situation arose that required Executive Committee attention, particularly with regard to the criteria surrounding universality and host country participation.

Consequently, Rhythmic will line up 27 Individuals and 8 Groups, and Women’s Trampoline 17 athletes.

Note that 324 gymnasts will represent Gymnastics at the Olympic Games: 196 for Artistic, 96 for Rhythmic and 32 for Trampoline.

Consult the updated participants lists for Men’s and Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline Gymnastics.

2012 FIG World Cup competitions in Trampoline Gymnastics

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 14, 2011: The 2012 FIG World Cup circuit for Trampoline Gymnastics includes five category A events, all of which will feature qualifications and finals in Men’s and Women’s Individuals as well as Synchronised Trampoline and a total of three events including Tumbling competitions.

With stopovers in two continents, the competitions are slated for June 2 – 3 in Taiyuan City (CHN), June 16 – 17 in Albacete (ESP), June 22 – 23 in Arosa (SUI), September 7 – 8 in Loule (POR) and October 5 – 6 in Sofia (BUL).

The world ranking points collected by the competitors during the circuit will add up to a total with the best four results counting and the top scorers in each discipline being crowned the winner of the overall series at the ultimate event in Sofia.

The new World Cup Rules 2012 for Trampoline Gymnastics can be downloaded here!

Registration for the events will open early January 2012.
 

Second Olympic Qualification – OG London 2012 Test Event
London Prepares Series
London (GBR), January 10 – 18, 2012

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 14, 2011: Gymnasts qualified their national federations for the London Test Event during the 2011 World Championships of their respective discipline. Now, at the close of nominative registrations, we know whom the federations have chosen to send to the second Olympic qualifier, scheduled for January 10 – 18, 2012, in the North Greenwich Arena of London (GBR).

Artistic Gymnastics

Men and Women Artistic gymnasts respectively obtained the right to compete in the Test Event as follows:
 

• eight Teams of five who ranked 9-16 in Competition I in Tokyo (JPN),
• sixteen Individual gymnasts from the NFs, who ranked 1–8 in the Team ranking from Competition I in Tokyo, with a maximum of two per NF,
• 41 other gymnasts including up to two gymnasts from NFs ranked 17–24 in the Team ranking from Competition I in Tokyo; up to one gymnast from a NF, in addition to those ranked 1–24 in the Team ranking from Competition I in Tokyo, to participate as per the Individual ranking from Competition I of the 2011 World Championships (All-Around results).

Furthermore, Krisztian Berki (HUN) as the only Individual Apparatus World Champion from Competition III in Tokyo, who is already qualified for the London Olympic Games, obtained an additional place in the Men’s competition.

Click here for the list of Artistic Gymnastics participants!

Trampoline Gymnastics

Sixteen men and sixteen women have participation rights for the London Test Event in Individual Trampoline Gymnastics according to the following criteria:
 

• A maximum of two men and two women per NF as per the Men’s and Women’s Individual rankings from the Qualifying Round in Birmingham (GBR), with the constraint that NFs who had one or two men and/or one or two women in the Finals in Birmingham may not participate at the Second Olympic Qualifier apart from the host country,
• The Individual Men’s and Women’s Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists from the Finals in Birmingham,

Click here for the list of TRA participants!

Rhythmic Gymnastics

The 2011 World Championships in Montpellier (FRA) qualified Individual gymnasts and Groups of six gymnasts to the Test Event according to the following criteria:

 Individuals

• The Individual Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists in the Individual ranking from Competition II (All-around results) in Montpellier,
• Gymnasts from NFs with gymnasts ranked 16–24 in the Individual ranking from Competition II (All-Around results) in Montpellier,
• And to meet the quota, the best-ranked Individual gymnasts in the Individual ranking from Competition I (All-around results) in Montpellier, with a maximum of one gymnast per NF and with the exception of NFs already qualified with two gymnasts in the Individual ranking from Competition II (All-around results) in Montpellier and one gymnast from the host country.

Groups

• Six Groups of six gymnasts from NFs ranked 7–12 in the Group ranking from the General Competition in Montpellier,
• The Group World Champion from the General Competition in Montpellier,
• One host country Group.

Click here for the list of RG participants!

The Olympic Test Event for Artistic Gymnastics will take place on January 10 – 13, Trampoline on January 13 and Rhythmic Gymnastics on January 16 – 18.

Click here for the detailed schedule and find out more about the London Prepares Series for Gymnastics.

How to follow the action?

The FIG will open a microsite for the event early January 2012 at http://londontest2012.fig-gymnastics.com. In addition to news coverage, the website will display live results during the Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions and provide information on how to follow the Trampoline Gymnastics competitions via the web Commentator Information System (CIS).

Fans of the high quality video clips produced by the FIG TV crew can look forward to numerous clips that will be posted on the FIG YouTube Channel during the event as well as special features to be confirmed at a later date.

Footage will also be made available to right holding broadcasters for transmission on television.

Competition photos will be posted and made available for purchase at www.fig-photos.com shortly following the competitions, and fans can follow event updates on Facebook and Twitter.

FIG Academy Programme

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 13, 2011: The FIG Academies, a worldwide education programme for coaches in the federation’s six competitive disciplines that was launched in 2002, celebrated the 10th year of its existence in 2011.

With eighteen Academies held throughout the year in fourteen different countries and on all continents, the programme that has as its goal to provide gymnastically developing and fully developed countries with a common knowledge base for the growth of high performance gymnasts, now counts a total of 118 Academies overall. In October, overall participation reached 3,000 coaches, marking an important milestone for this education programme.

The FIG Academy Programme consists of three levels of coach education. Federations may enter at a level that reflects their specific gymnastic coaching education programmes at home. Thus, federations with no gymnastics coaching education or only occasional coaching clinics must begin at Level 1. Those with formal coaching education programmes may begin at Level 2. Those with formal university degree programmes specifically for gymnastic coaches may begin at Level 3. Level 3 candidates who meet special pre-requisites and achieve exceptional examination results will be awarded with an FIG Coaches’ Brevet.

Even though the FIG does not certify or license coaches, federation-oriented responsibility, the seven-day Academy courses conclude with a comprehensive theoretical and practical examination.

Overview of Academies and Levels held in 2011

This three-level FIG Academy Programme has a high performance orientation but is supplemented, in cooperation with the FIG Gymnastics for All Committee, with a cross-discipline Gymnastics Foundations course targeting federations that are in the preliminary stages of establishing organised gymnastics programmes in their countries.

Each year, the FIG allocates a significant sum to its associated continental unions for development projects, with a certain percentage of this contribution being used for the organisation and participation of coaches at the Academy programmes.

Effective as of the year 2012, candidates for mandates within any FIG Technical Committee must have participated at a Level 3 Academy for their respective discipline. However, a Coaching Brevet is not mandatory.

Outlook for 2012

A total of twenty-five Academies are planned in 2012 with the following confirmed to date:

Overview of confirmed Academies and Levels planned for 2012

Hardy Fink, the FIG Director of Education and Academy Programmes, said:  “With the participation now of over 1,700 different coaches from 106 member federations at 118 Academies hosted by 44 countries, the FIG Academy Programme can now claim to be a world-wide programme. The coming year will bring even more Academies to make up for some of the ones that had to be postponed in 2011 because of the political conditions in the Arabian and North African countries. 

The Academy Programme for Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics has been supplemented this year with a comprehensive Age Group Development, Competition and Testing Programme that was introduced to 17 countries in 2011 to which will be added as many as 25 more during 2012.

The continuing support of the FIG President and Executive Committee has made this unique and extraordinary educational effort possible and has certainly already had a positive impact around the world. Thanks go also to the thirty-nine federations that have permitted the use of over 170 of their experts to teach at these many Academies and courses.”

Check out the detailed summary of completed and planned Academies here!

For more information, statistics, reviews and photo galleries of the FIG Academy Programme, visit the “Education” section on the FIG website.

Trampoline Gymnastics

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 9, 2011: The international Trampoline community together with Portuguese gymnastics is excited about the new, exclusively Portuguese, website www.trawp.com, fully endorsed and recommended by the FIG. 

The site is a buildout of the Portuguese Trampoline homepage created some ten years ago: tramp.com.pt. Over the past five years the new web address has not ceased to grow in hits and daily visitors, thanks to the quality of information posted. “The website was created and is handled by gymnasts - for gymnasts!” confided Rui Vinagre (POR), Trampoline Sport Manager at the FIG Head Office in the Olympic city of Lausanne (SUI).

On-site at the recent worlds in Birmingham (GBR), web designers offered a unique and stimulating coverage of the event. Don’t miss the fantastic video clip that Trampoline fans and others worldwide viewed en masse! The clip was put together with the help of former Double-Mini World Champion, Nuno Lico (POR).

FIG Foundation Council

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, December 7, 2011: In its September meeting in Montpellier (FRA), the FIG Foundation Council allocated grants for gymnastic and academic purposes to a total of twelve gymnasts for the year 2011.

The following members attended the meeting: Mr Paolo Parisi (ITA); FIG President, Prof. Bruno Grandi; Japan Gymnastics Association President, Hidenori Futagi; FIG Athletes Commission President, Jani Tanskanen; FIG Honorary Vice-President, Norbert Bueche; FIG Secretary General, André Gueisbuhler and FIG Deputy Secretary General, Nicolas Buompane.

The FIG Foundation Council granted twelve 5,000 CHF scholarships to gymnasts worldwide.
Note that only federations with a justifiable financial need and which have paid their dues are eligible for the scholarships. Criteria for consideration include exceptional talent and outstanding results; cases will be evaluated by recognised FIG technicians. Scholarships can be used to assist gymnasts in both their gymnastic and academic endeavours, and are designed to allow them to attend classes and train abroad, should adequate facilities be available.

The programme will continue on into 2012 and federations are invited to submit one candidate per Olympic discipline, a total of three candidates per federation.