Let’s Fly! The Trampoline Gymnastics Newsletter N° 17 - February 2024

Dear friends of Trampoline Gymnastics,

In November, I had the pleasure of attending the World Championships in Birmingham (GBR), where our European gymnasts secured places for the Olympic Games in Paris (FRA) and the World Games in Chengdu (CHN). What a great event it was and it was amazing to see all those world-class athletes giving their best! This is a testament to the great work being done by our gymnasts, coaches and national federations.

In fact, the achievements in Birmingham brought recognition to tumbling World Champion Mikhail Malkin and his coach Adil Huseyn-Zada as they won the 2023 ‘Male Gymnast of the Year’ and ‘Coach of the Year’ election, organised by European Gymnastics! Well-deserved!

I would also like to congratulate the European judges selected to officiate at the Olympic Games in Paris later this year. We are extremely proud of you and your achievements. This shows the quality and experience of judges that we have across the continent.

In this Newsletter, we’ll talk more in-depth about the 2023 Congress, the upcoming Europeans, and workshops.

Looking further into the future, we’re still looking for hosts for the 2026 event (April-June) and beyond. If your federation is interested in organising the competition, or if you have any questions concerning the organisation of a European Championships, please contact us. Also, if you haveany  ideas or questions, don’t hesitate to contact me or any member of the technical committee.

And … Remember you can stay connected with us! We can be found on Facebook at “European Gymnastics Trampoline Technical Committee” and on Instagram - @european_gymnastics_trampoline. 

At the beginning of December, the Congress of European Gymnastics was held in Sofia (BUL). There, European Gymnastics presented its vision of the future and its strategy under the tagline ‘The Essence of Sports’. We are excited by the new developments and are looking forward to seeing this strategy become a reality.

At the Congress, Vladimir Zeman (CZE) received the title of Honorary Member for his work for European Gymnastics and as the president of the TRA-TC. We all know Vladimir and his love for our sport. It is a well-deserved award in recognition of his tireless devotion to Trampoline Gymnastics.

Our next event is the European Championships in Guimaraes (POR) from 3-7 April. We are pleased to announce that there is a record number of entrants for this competition.

With that in mind, a coordination meeting took place in the host city recently. A delegation of the LOC, European Gymnastics, SmartScoring and the TRA-TC spoke about the event, the venue and sports presentation, among other things. We hope that our discussions will make this event unforgettable for all participants and spectators.

Besides the competition, the TC is organising a Round Table, where we will update the national federations present on the TRA-TC’s work. Topics will include our annual training camp, future workshops and possible new competition formats. This will provide a great opportunity for us to share ideas, listen to your opinions and answer any questions you may have. A medical meeting is also planned - so, please let your medical teams know and as soon as we confirm the topic(s) for this meeting, we will let you know!

Also during the European Championships, the SmartScoring Shooting Star Awards will be presented. We look forward to seeing who joins the list of outstanding recipients, which includes Tachina Peeters (BEL), Cristina Sainz (ESP), Oscar Smith (SWE) and Daniel Schmidt (GER), by receiving the award in Guimaraes.

There will be a workshop for TRA, DMT and TUM organised by the TRA-TC in cooperation with the Finnish Gymnastics Federation from 14 to 18 February. The TC is very pleased that the workshop covers all three disciplines, a good way to share our common knowledge and experience. Our TC members Luis Nunes, Jenny Söderlund and Andrew Coulter will give lectures and practical sessions on both coaching and judging.

There will also be a workshop taking place in Serbia at the beginning of September. However, there is still budget to hold another workshop in Europe, so if your federation would like to host one in trampoline, DMT or tumbling, please contact us.

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I look forward to seeing you in Guimaraes. 

Babette van Wetering

TRA TC President