Gymnastics for All Course in Almaty (KAZ), April 17 – 18, 2010

FIG Office, April 28, 2010: In August 2009, representatives from Kazakhstan participated in the FIG course designed to prepare experts for FIG Foundation courses. Since then, Kazakhstan has been working hard to develop Gymnastics for All activities within their federation, going so far as to participate in the FIG Colloquium “Safety within Apparatus Gymnastics” held in Lausanne (SUI) in 2009.
The Gymnastics Federation of Kazakhstan (KGF) organised its first and very own GFA course for coaches and instructors in Almaty on April 17 – 18, 2010, and with Mr Viktor Saaron (EST) as invited expert. Karlygash Kalieva and Irina Soldatenko from KGF did a great job preparing the course, which was followed by twenty-one participants and included both practical and theoretical sessions. The main topics were basic games, group acrobatics, flow gymnastics, dance, gymnastics with apparatus and performance creation. By the end of the course, participants were given an opportunity to put their knowledge to the test by creating their own group performances with musical accompaniment.
KGF Vice-President Mahmud Eskindirov, together with Karlygash Kalieva, Irina Soldatenko and Viktor Saaron, took the opportunity to meet with the Chief of Almaty’s Tourism and Sport Department, Mr Hairbolat Haidarov, who promised to support Gymnastics for All developmental activities in Almaty.
The course offered participants an opportunity to prepare for the first national gymnastics festival “Gymnafest Kazakhstan” slated for this summer. And who knows but we’ll see a few groups from Kazakhstan at the next World Gymnaestrada in Lausanne, July 10 – 16, 2011!
Looking ahead, KGF plans to arrange a Gymnastics for All course sometime in the near future in Astana, the country’s capital. We look forward to going back!
Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist (SWE)
FIG Gymnastics for All Committee President