Happy to report that my election campaign for the FIG presidency is going on at its peak

Regarding my candidacy for the presidency of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), I am pleased to declare that my electoral campaign is continuing fully, said Farid Gayibov, president of European gymnastics, Trend reports citing his statement.

“In September, our offline meetings resumed after a long interval. During the pandemic, we held our European Championships in 2020 with the aim of conserving our events and giving our athletes the opportunity to compete in safe conditions. , overcoming the challenges we however only met to discuss our administrative issues face to face in Lausanne (SUI) on September 11-12, 2021.

Frankly, there is a big difference between online and offline meetings. This time around, we had lively discussions, in particular, regarding the theme of the strategy for the new cycle on the agenda …

But, first of all, I would like to stress that we have achieved our objective which we have been pursuing for 4 years. We have increased our funds thanks to the contracts we have concluded with our partners – SmartScoring, Eurovision and device suppliers (Gymnova, Janssen Fritsen, Spieth & Eurotramp). The Organizers of the European Championships have benefited considerably from these contracts. As a result, interest in hosting our events has increased. Thus, we managed to assign the events even for 2024.

… And, now, keeping in mind all the achievements and stable development, having funds to invest in other projects, we have deliberated on our new strategy for the next few years. We have clearly defined plans and tasks for ourselves that we need to finalize at our next meeting.

At our September meeting, technical regulations for 2022 and 2023, accreditation rules, medical rules and other regulations were approved. We also discussed preparations for the meeting of European gymnastics member federations in Frankfurt to be held tomorrow.

Impressed by the meetings and our fruitful discussions with our partners on our continued cooperation in Lausanne, I traveled to Pesaro (ITA).

This city is known as a frequent host of gymnastics events. And, this time, they opened their doors to members of the European Gymnastics family for 3 consecutive weeks. First, the European Aerobic Gymnastics Championships took place (September 17-19) followed by European competitions by age groups (September 23-26) and the European Championships (September 29 – October 3) of acrobatic gymnastics.

It was remarkable to see that the number of countries participating in the European Championships in aerobic and acrobatic gymnastics was almost the same as we had at this year’s World Championships in these disciplines. It can be associated with several factors and reasons including the global pandemic. This gives us a positive sign that we are gradually returning to a normal life. I congratulate all the winners of the European events. Thanks to the excellent work done by the Italian Gymnastics Federation, its Local Organizing Committee in close collaboration with the Technical Committees and the staff of European Gymnastics, we have had successful events. I am sure the Gymnastics family will be happy to return to Italy to participate in future events planned here in the near future.

September 13 marked the death of Bruno Grandi, who led the FIG for 20 years. A remarkable man with strong leadership and a love for our sport. We had the honor to visit his family and his resting place to pay homage to him and to show that we will always remember him as a friend, a leader and for all that he contributed to gymnastics .

As many of you know, last month I was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I am very grateful for all the kind messages and warm wishes I have received from all of you. I think it is a good stimulus for our gymnastics family that one of its members has become Minister of Sports, and I see it as a testament to the work we have done together to improve and popularize our sport both at the level national and international.

Regarding my candidacy for the presidency of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), I am pleased to report that my electoral campaign is continuing in all its glory. Following my appointment as Minister, I continued my commitments and responsibilities as President of European Gymnastics, attending all Gymnastics meetings, championships and events. The same will apply in the event of success in the FIG elections. As we all know, the activity of a President or a member of the Executive Committee within European Gymnastics or the FIG, is based on principles of volunteerism and should not be affected by time jobs. full that we all have. In my case, I only see positive impacts that could affect gymnastics, and I am determined to contribute to the good of our sport, to build policies and strategies for the progress of our disciplines, to involve the right partners to ensure the global development, and find new tools contributing to the prosperity of Affiliated Federations. We can achieve whatever we set for ourselves when we unite our ideas and steer our ship together as one.

The Golden Age Festival in Rethymno (GRE) started yesterday. The Hellenic Gymnastics Federation deserves special thanks as they have gone out of their way to organize the postponed events of 2020. This sporting event is unique in that it is inclusive for people aged 50 and over. Unique in the world !

Prior to the November Congress, the Artistic Gymnastics (October 18-24) and Rhythmic Gymnastics (October 27-31) World Championships will be hosted by Kitakyushu (JPN). Unfortunately, as a member of the FIG Executive Committee, I will not be able to attend these World Championships due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been a difficult year for our gymnasts following the pandemic, the Olympics and all the hard work and stress that goes with it. You deserve more than praise, and I firmly believe this is something we should start working on. I have mentioned several times that our gymnasts deserve more recognition on a global scale for all the hard work they do, and I think the “Gymnasts Of the Year Awards†and the increase in the prize fund during this period. competitions would be a great starting point to give back.

I wish success to all the gymnasts who will participate in the last major events of the year, “he wrote.