Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

Infobox Organization
name = International Federation of Gymnastics


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caption = Logo of the FIG


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formation = July 23, 1881
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headquarters = Lausanne, Switzerland
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leader_title = President
leader_name = Bruno Grandi
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website = [http://www.fig-gymnastics.com www.fig-gymnastics.com]
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The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) or International Federation of Gymnastics (IFG) is the governing body of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the oldest international sport organisation [cite web|url=http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/0723.htm|title=Today in Francophone History|publisher=About.com|accessdate=2008-08-21] . 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. [cite web|url=http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=10846&@_TEMPLATE=15|title=FIG History|accessdate=2008-08-21]

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.

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 there are 128 federations affiliated to the FIG and 2 associated federations [cite web|url=http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=969&@_TEMPLATE=15|title=Milestones in FIG history|accessdate=2008-08-21] , 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 [cite web|url=http://exel.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/compo/TxtServer.jser?@_ID=10865&@_TEMPLATE=15|title=President's bio|accessdate=2008-08-21]

Major competitions

* Olympic competition
* World Gymnastics Championships
* Gymnastics World Cup

References

External links

* [http://www.fig-gymnastics.com Official site]

Affiliated federations

*flagicon|Argentina [http://www.efdeportes.com/gimnar/ Gimnasia Argentina]
*flagicon|Australia [http://www.promo.gymnastics.org.au/ Gymnastics Australia]
*flagicon|Brazil [http://www.cbginastica.com.br Brazilian Gymnastics Federation]
*flagicon|United Kingdom [http://www.british-gymnastics.org/ British Gymnastics]
*flagicon|Canada [http://www.gymcan.org/content/index.php?lang=en Gymnastics Canada]
*flagicon|China [http://www.cga.net.cn/ Chinese Gymnastics Association]
*flagicon|France [http://www.ffgym.com/ Fédération Française de Gymnastique]
*flagicon|Ireland [http://www.irishgymnastics.ie/ Irish Gymnastics Association]
*flagicon|Italy [http://www.federginnastica.it/html/home.php Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia]
*flagicon|Japan [http://www.jpn-gym.or.jp/english/ Japan Gymnastic Association]
*flagicon|Mexico [http://www.gimnasiamx.com/ Mexican Gymnastics Federation]
*flagicon|New Zealand [http://www.nzgymnastics.co.nz/ GymSports New Zealand]
*flagicon|Romania [http://www.romgym.info/ Romanian Gymnastics Federation]
*flagicon|United States [http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/ USA Gymnastics]