| International Federation of Gymnastics | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the FIG |
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| Formation | July 23, 1881 |
| Headquarters | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| President | Bruno Grandi |
| Website | www.fig-gymnastics.com |
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) or International Federation of Gymnastics (IFG) is the governing body of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the oldest international sport organisation[1]. Originally called the European Federation of Gymnastics, it had three member countries — Belgium, France and the Netherlands — until 1921, when non-European countries were admitted, and it was renamed to its current name.[2]
The federation draws up the rules, known as the Code of Points, which regulate how gymnast's performance is evaluated. Six gymnastics disciplines are governed by the FIG: Artistic gymnastics (further classified as Men's Artistic Gymnastics — MAG and Women's Artistic Gymnastics — WAG), Rhythmic gymnastics (RG), Aerobic gymnastics (AER), Acrobatic gymnastics (ACRO) and Trampolining (TRA).
Additionally, the federation has been considered the authority responsible for determining whether gymnasts are old enough to participate in the Olympics. Despite there being controversies regarding the reported ages of Chinese gymnasts He Kexin and Yang Yilin in the 2008 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee has deferred to the FIG age verifications.
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Organization
The main governing bodies of the federation are the President and Vice-Presidents, the Congress, held every two years, the Executive Committee, the Council and seven Technical Committees — for each of the disciplines (WAG and MAG have distinct ones; for GG it's called General Gymnastics Committee).
As of 2007[update] there are 128 federations affiliated to the FIG and 2 associated federations[3], as well as four Continental Unions:
- European Union of Gymnastics (UEG)
- Pan-American Gymnastic Union (PAGU)
- Asian Gymnastic Union (AGU)
- African Gymnastics Union (UAG)
An Italian, Bruno Grandi, has been the elected president since 1996[4]
Major competitions
- Olympic competition
- World Gymnastics Championships
References
- ^ "Today in Francophone History". About.com. http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/0723.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "FIG History". http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=10846&@_TEMPLATE=15. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Milestones in FIG history". http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=969&@_TEMPLATE=15. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "President's bio". http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=10865&@_TEMPLATE=15. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
External links
Affiliated federations
Gimnasia Argentina
Gymnastics Australia
Brazilian Gymnastics Federation
British Gymnastics
Gymnastics Canada
Chinese Gymnastics Association
Czech Gymnastics Federation
Fédération Française de Gymnastique
Irish Gymnastics Association
Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia
Japan Gymnastic Association
Mexican Gymnastics Federation
GymSports New Zealand
Polish Gymnastic Association
Romanian Gymnastics Federation
USA Gymnastics
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