TeamGym News! The TeamGym Newsletter N° 12 - May 2020

Welcome to the 12^th edition of the TeamGym Newsletter!

Hope you are all well!

After a rather hectic start of the year with a TeamGym judges’ course on January 2^nd-6^th in Bracknell (GBR) followed by a Technical Committee meeting and an Introductory course on February 7^th-8^th  in Šamorín (SVK), we were ready to sink our teeth into all scheduled activities for 2020. Shortly after, we all experienced the COVID-19 pandemic reaching Europe.

The crisis has brought unprecedented challenges for all of us, and the long-term implications will be hard to forecast. In line with decisions in many countries to close all gyms and leisure facilities, several clubs have been rolling out remote training programmes.

TeamGym gymnasts all over Europe have been finding innovative ways to stay active by training at home or outdoor. In a few countries, gyms have been kept open, but with imposed restrictions on the number of gymnasts training at the same time. National teams preparing for the European Championships have postponed gatherings and camps. On top of that, the Local Organising Committee in Denmark is concerned they may not be allowed to have a large audience and that is obviously not promising for an event expecting around 6,000 spectators. This is why we have decided, together with the Danish Gymnastics Federation and the Local Organising Committee, to postpone this year’s European Championships…

We are pleased to announce new dates for this event: 14 to 17 April 2021, a postponement of exactly 6 months.

2020 is the first year to open up the European Championships by welcoming teams from all FIG Federations. Unfortunately, in an attempt to curb COVID-19, travel restrictions and completely sealed borders are making the world more closed than ever in modern history. There is indeed a great interest for TeamGym from non-European countries, and we hope to see some new countries performing at the Open European Championships.

As an exception, the age limits for the rescheduled event in 2021 will be:

• Juniors 13 – 18 (born 2003 – 2008)
• Seniors 16+

 

This means that juniors who turn 17 in 2020 will have the option to compete as juniors or seniors in April 2021. Gymnasts may only compete in one team at the combined Junior / Senior Championships.

 

Since our previous event in Odivelas (POR) in 2018, we have updated the following rules:

• The TeamGym Code of Points 2017, revision B, was approved by the Executive Committee in June 2019 and is available on the website. The Code has just recently been updated with the new graphical profile, including a brand new TeamGym logo, following the recent name change from Union Européenne de Gymnastique (UEG) to European Gymnastics.
• The Technical Regulations for all disciplines have been updated for 2020-2021 and include some important changes for TeamGym. The eight teams with the highest ranking from the qualification proceed to the final (if less than twelve teams in a section, only six will qualify for the final). Amended tie break rules will be applied in the finals. The position of a deputy head of delegation has been removed, but two team leaders for seniors and two for juniors have been added.
• The TeamGym Directives for Equipment have been updated mainly to reflect the reduced size of the Floor area introduced in 2018 (16 m x 14 m) and the position of the two judges’ panels for Floor. Some clarifications and corrections have also been made.
• On the website, there are also documents containing clarifications and frequently asked questions. These are updated regularly, and questions could be submitted through the Contact us page.

Organising frequent judges’ and coaches’ courses is a vital part of the development plan for TeamGym.

The TeamGym brevet course starting on January 2^nd was an extra brevet course for new and current TeamGym federations preparing for the European Championships. Candidates representing seven countries attended the course. During this 4-year cycle, three courses have previously been held in October/November 2017 and May 2018. In total, judges from 20 countries have taken part in the courses accounting for almost 90 TeamGym brevet judges!

The foundation (level 1) and performance level courses (level 2) in Luxembourg and Sweden planned for this summer will both be rescheduled.

Keep up to date with the upcoming TeamGym courses by following European Gymnastics on its website and social media channels.

 

Photo by Veronika Dubovska

The 2022 TeamGym European Championships have been awarded to Luxembourg and will be held in the National Sports and Cultural Centre d’Coque in the city of Luxembourg.

The Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Gymnastique, FLGym, started to develop TeamGym in 2018 and is now highly active in educating TeamGym coaches and judges. The European Championships will take place from 14 to 17 September 2022, which is somewhat earlier than usual. Returning to October is planned for the event in 2024 and onwards.

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We are facing challenging times and should also in TeamGym focus on things that are within our control, try to be even more creative and, if possible, minimize the difficulty of the situation. There are indeed many good examples set by federations and clubs all around Europe showing the importance of sport in our lives.

Stay safe and stay active,

Per Sjöstrand

TeamGym-TC President