The FIG Executive Committee meeting resulted in major rule changes.
The president of Asian Gymnastics Union, Mr. Abdul Rahman Al-Shathari, expressed his satisfaction with the Asian Union’s ongoing successes while taking part in the FIG EC meeting on March in Switzerland. Alshathri continued,”The AGU has expanded to include 39 affiliated federations, and it is prepared to extend even further. He also commended the efforts of the technical committee presidents and members.
The following are the meeting’s most significant decisions, which also involved changing several rules:
AMENDMENTS TO THE FIG RULES
The EC approved amendments to the Licence Rules that take into account the fact that FIG licence cards are now managed online. Updates to the General Judges Rules were approved, as were modifications to the Specific Judges Rules for Aerobic Gymnastics.
The EC furthermore approved changes to the FIG Academy Policies under which the Level 2 theory examination must now be taken on the FIG’s eLearning platform.
The EC approved the addition of a provision to the FIG Rules for Sanctioning International Events that makes the exploitation of any rights related to hosting an event subject to the rules of any other sports organisations whose rules the FIG has committed to respect.
An amendment to the prize money for Team and Group finals at the Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships was approved by the EC to ensure a fairer distribution of the prize pot among the champions.
APPARATUS NORMS
The EC approved several changes to the Apparatus Norms, including a proposal from the Apparatus Commission to make the Tension Control System (TCS) for Uneven Bars, Horizontal Bar and Still Rings mandatory for the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cups from 2025. This system, which was already used at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, allows coaches and athletes to set the same tension on the cables in the training halls, warm-up hall and the competition hall. The TCS also increases safety, since it prevents failure of the apparatus due to too low tension in the cables, and reduces the possibility of damage to apparatus, and especially to the ground anchors, due to too high cable tension.
The EC also approved raising the height of the Uneven Bars by another 5 cm to 10 cm in competitions for gymnasts who touch the mat with their feet during exercise. Requests for such adjustments must be announced in good time in accordance with the prevailing regulations in the Code of Points.
