FIG Trampoline Technical Committee Meeting Tremblant

LAUSANNE (SUI), March 28, 2012: The FIG Trampoline Technical Committee met for their first ordinary meeting of the year in Tremblant (CAN) on March 20 – 22, 2012. High on the agenda were discussions surrounding the “Guide to Judging” and appendices, as well as preparations for the Intercontinental Judging Courses. With clear descriptions of judging criteria, new drawings and a selection of explicit judging videos, the Committee aims to provide valuable materials for the instruction and training of judges, and subsequent exams. The Committee’s next meetings are scheduled during the 2012 London Olympic Games and on November 15-17 in Lausanne (SUI).

FIG Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup, Doha (QAT), March 28-30, 2012

LAUSANNE (SUI), March 27, 2012: A strong and interesting field will take to the floor at the Aspire Academy Dome in Doha (QAT) when the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup gets underway on Wednesday.

A record breaking 41 female and 76 male gymnasts representing a total of 31 different countries from all continents are registered to compete at an event that takes place for the fifth consecutive year since its launch in 2008. After kick off last weekend in Cottbus (GER), Doha is the second stopover of the 2012 FIG Challenge Cup series and features Qualifications on Wednesday and Apparatus Finals on Thursday and Friday.

Detailed schedule

Doha hosts of the Qatar Gymnastics Federation are known for top notch organisation and hospitality, which have attracted an increasing number of delegations and gymnasts to the competition at the Aspire Academy Dome. “Gymnasts like to come here because we provide them with world class facilities. They appreciate the high quality of event and hospitality that they experience here,” said Qatar Gymnastics Federation President Ali al Hitmi.

The tournament lines up numerous gymnasts qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Standing out in Men’s are 2008 Olympic Champion and title holder in Doha on Floor and Horizontal Bar, Zou Kai of China, and 2011 World Silver medallist on Pommel Horse, Cyril Tommasone of France, while 2004 Olympic Champion on Balance Beam and Floor Catalina Ponor (ROU) leads the women’s roster. Also lining up are Beijing Olympians Ashleigh Brennan (AUS), Ethiene Gonser (BRA), Jiang Yuyuan (CHN), Deng Linlin (CHN) and Jessica Lopez (VEN), as well as former World Champion on Floor and Uneven Bars Beth Tweddle (GBR).

“Events like the FIG Challenge Cup are helping Qatari gymnasts. Our gymnasts have learnt a lot from competing against the world’s best and their rise proves this clearly,”Hitmi said at a press conference last week. He also mentioned that Qatari Gymnastics has grown by leaps and bounds in a very short period of time. “The unexpected success of Qatar at the Arab Games in December 2011 in Doha is living proof that the federation is going in the right direction and providing the best possible atmosphere in which to groom its gymnasts. Nobody was expecting that Qatar would win any medals, but to everyone’s surprise, Shaden Wohdan won two Gold medals for our country.”

Nominative registrations

Get more information on the event website at http://www.dohagym.com and follow the action on the organisers’ social media accounts on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/DohaGym and Twitter @DohaGym.

For the first time in the history of the event, fans have the opportunity to view live results on their mobile devices by following these instructions. Live streaming is availablehere.

About 2012 FIG Individual Apparatus Artistic Gymnastics World Cup and Challenge Cup Series

The 2012 FIG Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics series for Individual Apparatus includes one World Cup (category A) and six Challenge Cup (category B) competitions.

Zibo City (CHN) on April 7 – 8 will host the 2012 Individual Apparatus World Cups, while 2012 Challenge Cups will take place on March 22 – 25 in Cottbus (GER), March 28 – 30 in Doha (QAT), April 20 – 22 in Maribor (SLO), April 27 – 29 in Osijek (CRO), June 9 – 10 in Ghent and November 23 – 24 in Ostrava (CZE).

Separate World Ranking lists will be established for CIII, six for men and four for women, with the Individual Apparatus rankings including combined lists for World Cups and Challenge Cups.

Invitation to the Individual Apparatus World Cup is based on the CIII rankings from the 2011 World Championships, the 2011 World Cup Ranking List for Individual Apparatus and the 2011 Challenge Cup Ranking List, and is limited to twelve gymnasts with a maximum of two entries per country on each apparatus. Moreover, the organising member federation can grant wild cards to a maximum of one man and one woman on one apparatus. The competitions include Qualifications and Finals with the best four gymnasts per apparatus proceeding to the final round. An additional one wild card per Men’s and Women’s competition is allowed in the event that the host federation fails to qualify for the Finals.

The Challenge Cup series is an open category featuring qualifying and final rounds, with participation limited to two gymnasts per country and apparatus. The best eight gymnasts per apparatus advance to the Final. An extra one wild card per Men’s and Women’s competition is allowed in the event that the host federation fails to qualify for the Finals.

The winners of the 2012 Individual Apparatus World Cup and Challenge Cup Series are those gymnasts with the highest number of points for each apparatus and the best four results counting after the last event in Ostrava, where special award ceremonies will be held and the winners will receive a cup.