The International Gymnastics Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

. Its headquarters is in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 July 1881 in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Belgium, making it the world's oldest existing international sports organisation. 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 received its current name. FIG Lausanne

The federation sets the rules, known as the Code of Points, that regulate how gymnasts' performances are evaluated. Seven gymnastics disciplines are governed by the FIG:

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

, further classified as men's artistic gymnastics and women's artistic gymnastics;

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...

;

aerobic gymnastics Aerobic gymnastics or sport aerobics is a competitive sport originating from traditional aerobics in which complex, high-intensity movement patterns and elements of varying difficulty are performed to music. Nature of the game The performanc ...

;

acrobatic gymnastics Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive discipline of gymnastics where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform routines consisting of acrobatic skills, dance and tumbling, set to music. The sport is governed by the International Feder ...

;

trampolining Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic Games, Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle posit ...

; double mini trampoline, tumbling and

parkour Parkour () is an athletic Training#Physical training, training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment ...

. Additionally, the federation is responsible for determining gymnasts' age eligibility to participate in the Olympics. After the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, FIG barred Russian athletes and officials, including judges. It also announced that "all FIG World Cup and World Challenge Cup events planned to take place in Russia ... are cancelled, and no other FIG events will be allocated to Russia ... until further notice." FIG also banned the Russian flag at its events. In 19 July 2023, FIG decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and support personnels to participant events under individual neutral athletes.

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 technical committees for each of the disciplines. In 2023, there were 161 national federations affiliated with FIG, one of which have been suspended, as well as one associated federation, one provisional federation and the following five continental unions: *

European Union of Gymnastics European Gymnastics is one of five continental unions that represents the interests of Europe in the International Gymnastics Federation ( or ''FIG''). It was formed on 27 March 1982 as the European Union of Gymnastics ( or ''UEG'') and adopted i ...

(UEG) * Pan-American Gymnastic Union (PAGU) * Asian Gymnastic Union (AGU) * African Gymnastics Union (UAG) * Oceania Gymnastics Union (OGU) Across all disciplines, participation in FIG-sanctioned events exceeds 30,000 athletes, about 70% of whom are female.

Presidents, and their tenures, of the FIG

Morinari Watanabe was elected president of the organization since 2017.

Tournaments

According to the technical regulations of the International Gymnastcs Federation, the competitions officially organized by FIG are: * World Gymnastics Championships **

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the International Gymnastics Federation, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held ...

** World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships ** Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships ** Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships ** World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships ** Parkour World Championships * World Cup series ** Artistic Gymnastics World Cup ** Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup ** Trampoline World Cup ** Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup ** Aerobic Gymnastics World Cup ** Parkour World Cup * World Challenge Cup series ** Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup ** Rhythmic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup Other official FIG competitions include: *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

* World Games * Junior World Gymnastics Championships ** Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships ** Junior World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships * World Age Group Competitions Defunct events formerly organized of sanctioned by FIG: * Four Continents Gymnastics Championships * Junior World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships * Olympic Games Test Events

Age eligibility rules

The FIG regulates the age at which gymnasts are allowed to participate in senior-level competitions. The purpose is to protect young gymnasts. This has caused some controversy, and there have been cases of age falsification.

References

External links

* {{Authority control