Live ACRO together! The Acrobatic Gymnastics Newsletter N° 9

Dear friends of Acro

The European Games in Minsk last June well and truly put Acrobatic Gymnastics in the spotlight! The mixed pairs and women’s groups, competing in alternation with Rhythmic Gymnastics, entertained the audience in the Minsk Arena and impressed many members of important international sports organisations. Thank you gymnasts, coaches and judges for the great promotion of our sport!

Earlier this month, we returned to Kamchia (BUL) for our annual training camp. Yet again, the participants experienced a wonderful week filled with intense training and fun social and cultural activities.

Our Technical Committee is currently working on an educational platform which we aim to finalise in 2020. We are also hosting a series of development workshops so if your country is interested in developing acrobatic gymnastics, a workshop can be organised. Contact us!

Furthermore, we’d like to draw your attention to the UEG Development programme: National Federations can request equipment or financial support for projects. For 2020, the deadline for submitting a request is 1 November 2019. More info: https://www.ueg.org/news/submit-your-projects-uegs-development-programme-0

In the next 6 weeks, the preparations for the 2019 European Age Group competitions and the European Championships in Holon (ISR) will be finalised and the first delegations welcomed. Be ready for an outstanding event, attracting many spectators to the magnificent Toto Hall!

8 mixed pairs and 8 women’s groups earned the right to compete at the second edition of the European Games in Minsk. All participants competed in three medal events: balance final, dynamic final and all-around final. The home nation hit the jackpot straight away when their group featuring Veronika Nabokina, Yulia Ivonchyk and Karina Sandovich clinched the first gold medal available, for their performance in the balance final. Pure delight in the Minsk Arena, the tone was set for 2 days of high-level acrobatics that seduced the spectators. The Belgian trio, Talia De Troyer, Britt Vanderdonckt and Charlotte Van Royen won the other two gold medals while the Portuguese ladies Barbara Da Silva Sequeira, Francisca Sampaio Maia and Francisca Maia earned medals in all three finals.

Kirill Startsev and Viktoria Aksenova (RUS) were victorious both in the dynamic and the all-around final, leaving the balance title to Belarussian Volha Melnik and Artur Beliakou. Joining them on the podium, Azerbaijan’s Abdulla Al-Mashaykhi and Ruhidil Gurbanli returned home with two silver and one bronze medal.

 

From 5 to 11 August, Kamchia on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, welcomed 119 gymnasts and 38 coaches from 12 National Federations for a week of intense training under the guidance of world-renowned experts. Led by TC members Nikolay Ivanov (BUL) and Dmitry Vinnikov (RUS), the gymnasts carried out two training sessions a day, in addition to choreography lessons and workshops.

Of course, there was also time to explore the local sights and to enjoy social activities, including some well-deserved rest at the beach.

A big thank you to the Bulgarian Federation of Sports Acrobatic for the excellent organisation and the passionate input of our experts Galina Kovalchuk (UKR), Igor Blintsov (GER), Yury Golyak (UKR), Sergey Tretyakov (BEL), Vladimir Marchenko (GBR), Eva Mauriceau (FRA) and Matei Todorov (BUL)!

The Israel Gymnastics Federation and the city of Holon welcomed our Technical Committee for a visit to the Toto Hall, venue of the upcoming European Age Group competitions and the European Championships, to discuss the final preparations and to execute the draw of the starting order.

We are delighted to see the level of preparations and the commitment of the Local Organising Committee. Together, we aim to raise the standard of this event, providing a fantastic experience for the competing gymnasts as well as for the fans in the hall and at home.

Ticket sale is going well with already 5000 tickets sold so don’t wait any longer … Get your tickets now!

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See you all in Holon in 6 weeks!

Carine Charlier

UEG ACRO-TC President