The President's Note N° 3 - July 2026

Dear friends

After several months of planning and preparing with the new European Gymnastics authorities, our competition season kicked off in the Portuguese city of Portimao where this year’s edition of the European Championships in Trampoline, Double Mini-Trampoline and Tumbling were held. As we are used to in Portugal, the event was impeccably organised. Our Technical Committee made a major overhaul of the competition schedule, aligning the team finals in one afternoon while the last day of competition was reserved for all the individual and synchro finals. A marathon of 19 finals in a row to give the athletes their well-deserved spotlight and ensure a true show for the spectators. Well done!

The European Cup in Rhythmic Gymnastics returned to Baku for the third year in a row. In addition to the Cross Battles for senior individuals and groups, we added a third Cross Battle format: junior teams. If you want to know more about this unique format, have a look at our documentary ‘Chasing Perfection – Inside the Cross Battle’ on our Youtube channel. Superstars Sofia Rafaelli (ITA) and Sofia Ivanova (BUL) give us that rare glimpse into their mindset.

These Cross Battles sprout from the European Gymnastics’ Strategy 2030, aiming to make our events even more attractive. For the individual all-around final at the Rhythmic Europeans in Varna, we introduced a new, attractive format, drastically reducing the time needed and allowing for more direct competition between the gymnasts. An improvement, for the gymnasts, and for the fans, in the hall and watching on TV worldwide: the top 20 gymnasts compete with both hoop and ball. After these two apparatuses, the top 10 compete with clubs and ribbon in reverse order of their ranking. Excitement guaranteed!

I warmly thank the Gymnastics Federations of Portugal, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria for their hard work. These events have been a great experience for the athletes.

At the beginning of the year, after a decision taken by the General Assembly at the 2025 Congress, we established the Parkour Working Group, chaired by former Vice-President Michel Boutard (FRA) who brings experience as former World Gymnastics Parkour Commission. He is joined by members Ana Serrao Arrais (POR), Lukas Steiner (AUT), Simon Richman (ESP), Francisco de la Riva (BEL) and Mark Van Swieten (NED). In June, they met for their kick-off meeting. Discussing the latest Parkour news, the group developed a proposal for the 2027 European Games 2027, analysed the feedback from the National Federations survey and its impact, and made plans how to meet the objectives set by the Executive Committee. The aim is to analyse the Parkour situation in Europe from the grassroot level and its potential, and defining a proposal to the European Gymnastics Executive Committee for goals, budget and plan for the work 2027 – 2029. A meeting with the World Gymnastics Parkour Technical Committee President Charles Perrière and member Aimene Boustila aimed at aligning objectives between the two governing bodies.

Another great project that we are part of again is the 2027 European Games. Scheduled to be held next year, from 16 to 27 June in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, we aim to include the same 6 disciplines as we did in the inaugural edition in Baku 2015 and in Minsk four years later: men’s and women’s artistic, rhythmic, acrobatic, aerobic and trampoline gymnastics. Mark your calendar!

Politically, it’s been an intense period. While World Gymnastics cancelled the Ad Hoc rules for neutral participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus mid-May, we were forced to accept this with the Rhythmic Europeans scheduled for a week later, with the condition that this decision needs to be ratified by our member Federations in an Extraordinary General Assembly as stipulated in our statutes. Our Executive Committee, General Director and lawyer have worked hard to find a suitable solution. I want to thank everyone involved for their dedication. It’s a tough time in a sensitive geopolitical culture. The General Assembly is now scheduled for Tuesday 28 July.

In the next two months, we have a wide variety of events to look forward to!

This afternoon the European Gym for Life Challenge kicks off in the beautiful Italian town Pistoia. Over three days, we’ll witness performances by 3437 gymnasts in 138 groups from 21 countries. Tickets are available for sale for the public. Immediately after, Pistoia will also host the 15^th edition of EUROGYM. This Gymnastics for All festival aimed at teenagers from all over Europe will welcome 4200 participants from 25 countries. The gymnasts will participate in exciting workshops and perform their routines on stages throughout the city centre. The aim is to promote gymnastics while fostering friendship and cultural exchange between young athletes from different countries. The Opening Ceremony and Gala combined with Closing Ceremony are open to the public. Get your tickets now! Check out all relevant information on the European Gymnastics website.

In August, all attention shifts to the Croatian capital Zagreb as this vibrant city hosts both the Women’s and the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics European Championships. The women kick off the two-week event, with competition days from 13 to 16 August. The men compete from 19 to 23 August. Both junior and senior gymnasts will battle for the medals. For the women’s senior finals, we’ve aligned the TV programme with the European Athletics and European Aquatics Championships to maximise coverage. At the recent coordination meeting, the Croatian Gymnastics Federation showed how well it is prepared and how eager the hosts are to provide the best conditions to athletes, coaches, judges and spectators alike. What better way to spend your summer than in beautiful Croatia!

On the global stage, the first of this year’s World Championships is also scheduled in August when the Rhythmic community gathers in the German city of Frankfurt while September will witness the World Championships in Aerobic an Acrobatic Gymnastics.

Wishing the participants of all our summer events an incredible experience!

Dr. Farid Gayibov

European Gymnastics President