The Executive Committee of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG) will hold its statutory meeting in Lausanne on October 9 and 10. Important strategic choices feature on its agenda.
After the success of gymnastics at the first European Games, held last June in Baku (AZE), UEG President Georges Guelzec (FRA), will comment on the decisions made which led to a positive report. Satisfaction on the financial side as well, judged by the state of the accounts of 2015 and the budgetary planning for 2016. In the opinion of the Director herself, Kirsi Erofejeff-Engman (FIN), the UEG has stabilised its financial situation.
Calendar
The delegates are invited to comment on and arrange the last details of the organisation of UEG’s 26th Congress, to be held in November in Bratislava (SVK), and during which the conclusions of the Work Group dedicated to the gymnastics of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will be unveiled.
These same delegates will also select the host city of the 27th UEG Congress in 2017. Four cities submitted their candidacy: Baku (AZE), Lugano (SUI), Reykjavik (ISL) and Split (CRO). All four were subjected to a preliminary visit. The EC will also decide on the attribution of the 2017 European Championships in Aerobic and Acrobatic Gymnastics.
Uncertainty
The 7th European Individual Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2017, awarded to Bucharest (ROU), are also a crucial subject on the agenda. In fact, the Romanian Federation reported a serious delay in the construction project of a new sports complex in the capital. In the letter addressed to the UEG, owner of the event, an alternative was formulated: organise the competitions in the city of Cluj-Napoca (ROU), situated 450 km from the capital.
The President of the UEG and its Director recently visited Romania to evaluate the situation. The Executive Committee will need to decide between keeping the Romanian candidacy and risk a relocation to Cluj-Napoca if the foreseen venue is not ready by the deadline, or reconsider the offer of the Danish organisers in Arhus (DEN), who presented their candidacy to the Executive Committee in January of this year in Lausanne.
When making its decision the Executive Committee will need to take into account that the European Championships in Artistic Gymnastics remains the most prestigious and most important event in the UEG’s range. The 2015 edition, held in Montpellier (FRA), was an immense success, both because of the gymnastics shown and its popularity. The 2016 edition, entrusted to the Swiss Gymnastics Federation and the city of Bern, will without a doubt confirm this year’s numbers.