2011 SU Update: FIG President talks to Young Reporters

FIG President Grandi addresses the Young Reporters 

SHENZHEN – Bruno Grandi – the president of the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) – has identified the age of competitors as one of the biggest ongoing issues affecting his sport.

Addressing the FISU-AIPS Young Reporters’ forum in Shenzhen, China, Grandi said gymnastics had a concerning history of young athletes leading seriously unbalanced lives.

Gymnasts must be at least 16 years old now to compete at the Olympics or the gymnastics world championships. But Grandi hinted that even 16 was still too young.

“Gymnastics is a sport where physiology is so important,” Grandi said. “You have to complete many repetitions to become perfect.

“It’s not the same as riding a bicycle.

“To learn these movements at a young age, that means many gymnasts train for six hours per day. That means they have no possibility to study or to have a normal life.”

Grandi said gymnastics was a sport that required immense discipline and practice to reach the top and that too many children in the past had put the pursuit of Olympic success ahead of their studies.

“In particular, the women start very young. This is the case in many countries where babies learn the complicated movements,” he said.

“This is the big disaster of gymnastics – we have created from time to time the mentality that only gymnastics exists.”

Grandi also said the intense nature of training for high-level competitions at such young ages saw many gymnasts burn out and quit the sport before reaching their 20s.

He said the fight against the proliferation of youngsters dominating the sport was an ongoing battle but one his organisation would continue with.

One particular issue he identified was the problem of some trainers pushing their young gymnasts too hard.

“I want there to be a human aspect of gymnastics and not just one system,” he said.

“We are not teaching animals here; these are women and men. They need to have the maturity to understand what they want.

“I believe many people who were against me support me now and the direction I have taken my sport in.”

Grandi said another problem in the sport of gymnastics was that forged documents were sometimes presented by national federations in the attempt to permit underage athletes to compete.

“This is another big social problem. Many times, we must consider the age of the athlete and whether they have modified their passport,” Grandi said.

Grandi said his organisation took a very dim view of federations that allowed false documents to be presented.

(Source: Aaron Lawton, FISU-AIPS Young Reporter/New Zealand – Photos: C. Pierre/FISU)

Jeno Kamuti

Present at today’s session also was Jeno Kamuti, President of the International Fair Play Committee. Dr. Kamuti is a churgeon with a passion for sports. He is an accomplished and medalled fencer at World Championships, Universiades and Olympics. The Hungarian informed the Young Reporters about the International Fair Play Trophy.