News for All The Gymnastics for All Newsletter N° 17 - November 2025

A Year of Resilience, Growth, and Focus on the Future.

As the year draws to a close, the Gymnastics for All (GfA) Committee within European Gymnastics looks back on a period defined by both significant challenges and remarkable achievements.

This year presented an unexpected hurdle with the departure of our esteemed President, Hlif Thorgeirsdottir, to the FIG Council. This transition was a true test, yet the entire GfA Committee rose to the occasion, demonstrating unwavering commitment and capacity to continue the vital work initiatives. The collective effort ensured that our drive was maintained and that all planned projects moved forward effectively. This year saw substantial work across key developmental areas:

• Mentor Programme: Following three years of successful implementation, the Mentor Programme was a highlight, particularly the intensive work with Poland to develop their Gymnastics for All initiatives. This year served as a period of deep reflection and analysis, which will lead to important updates in the coming years to ensure the programme remains impactful.
• Regulations: We dedicated time to comprehensive study and updating of our regulations. The aim is to make them easier to read and, crucially, to encourage greater openness and participation in our events. This work also involved creating exciting new challenges and events to refresh our offering.

Our main focus now is on the planning of the 2026 events! The Italian town of Pistoia is organising the European Gym for Life Challenge and EUROGYM in July 2026 while Les Sables d’Olonne in France will host the Golden Age Gym Festival in October 2026.

This year marks the end of one cycle, but our future begins tomorrow. Gymnastics for All can look forward to new challenges in the coming years with a clear focus on development and increasing participation in exciting events.

Education was a major area this year. In September, we organised the fourth edition of the Educational Long Weekend in the Estonian capital Tallinn.

33 participants from 11 different countries joined us to explore the fascinating topic of choreography in gymnastics for older adults, led by our expert instructors Virginia Gonçalves (POR), Zlatka Aleksandrova Dimitrova (BUL) and Tamara Grob (SUI).

This Educational Long Weekend was, yet again, extensively praised, proving highly effective in improving our connection with the federations and significantly enhancing participants' knowledge in choreography.

In addition to the onsite activities, the use of webinars is proving an invaluable tool for continuous education and sharing best practices across the continent.

We have an incredible year ahead! The focus on planning the 2026 European Gym for Life Challenge and EUROGYM 2026 in Pistoia (ITA) has been intense, and incredibly promising! The Notification of Interest has yielded excellent numbers, indicating that we can anticipate a record-breaking edition of both of these hallmark events. The enthusiasm from the federations is evident, and we are thrilled by the prospect of such a massive gathering in Italy.

We are also carefully working with the Local Organising Committee for the upcoming Golden Age Gym Festival in Les Sables d'Olonne. Our shared goal is to ensure this is a truly memorable edition for all participants, and we are actively aiming to increase the number of participants for this wonderful celebration of lifelong gymnastics.

You’d better save the dates!

European Gym for Life Challenge – Pistoia (ITA): (9, 10 &)* 11 July 2026

* depending on amount of registered groups

EUROGYM – Pistoia (ITA): 12 to 16 July 2026

Golden Age Gym Festival – Les Sables d’Olonne (FRA): 4 to 9 October 2026

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I want to conclude by offering my sincere thanks to my colleagues on the Gymnastics for All Committee for a tremendously productive year and their collaboration and partnership.

Ricardo Lima

GfA-TC President ad interim