Objectives: Justice – Universality – Regularity

From the minute they take to the bars, every gymnast dreams of competitions, podiums and the Olympic Games. It’s a natural trajectory. Their quest, however, s punctuated with the obstacles and pain that gymnasts alone can measure. They sacrifice free time, studies, and at times their health to accidents as they run toward Mount Olympus. Sometimes when they are finally ready to compete they fail to qualify because of the injustices hidden in pre-exiting rules. It is in the hopes of correcting this injustice that new texts have been drafted; the best gymnasts will qualify de facto for the Games.

There is another basic principle that the FIG fully intends to respect: universality. Present on five continents and embraced worldwide, gymnastics seeks to demonstrate equal participation at Olympic events. The best gymnasts from the continental unions will be there. They will participate, and that’s what counts if we heed the words of Pierre de Coubertin. In addition to these two concepts, there is the international gymnastic calendar. Qualify for the Olympic Games? But where, and how?

The FIG, its unions and federations are organisers of potential events that they hope will attract top gymnasts from all over the world. What we offer them is important, and it can be hard for gymnasts, coaches and federations to make the right choice. Travel, competition overload and cost are obstacles to be reckoned with in a gymnastic season. The FIG and its authorities understand this. For this reason, decisions will be rapidly implemented in order to coordinate the calendar for gymnasts and their entourage, but also to offer the media and public the greatest possible number of evenly spaced, quality events.

The 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2018 have been allocated to the Federation of Qatar, City of Doha. The proposed dates October 12 to 28, 2018, have to be confirmed.

According to Morinari Watanabe, Secretary General of the Japan Gymnastics Association, sport justice must also find its inspiration in the fundamental principles of Olympism. “If the Olympic Games host the world’s best gymnasts, excellence cannot be the only criteria. We want gymnasts from every continent. Participation is a vital principle in the Olympic Movement and it was important to the man who gave the impetus.”