UNION AFRICAINE DE GYMNASTIQUE
79
th
FIG Congress and General Assembly Cancun (MEX) 2012
UAG President's Report
ACTIVITIES REPORT - UAG / CANCUN 2012
As a preamble to this report, we would like to point out that the challenge of highest urgency and
sensitivity facing African gymnastics over the next four years is the need to raise the technical level
of our competitive gymnasts to empower them to rank higher at World Cup stages and World
Championship events, the sole means of achieving 2016 Olympic selection without the Wild Card.
A process identical to that used for Olympic qualification will soon be applied to World
Championships, with Continental Championships as a selective event; it is thus imperative that the
African federations turn their attention to performance, with an emphasis on development at the
mid and long term. Over the course of this cycle, African gymnastics has seen exciting moments,
such as organisation of the 2010 African Championships in Namibia, and difficult ones, such as
when the discipline was struck, to our great surprise, from the 2011 African Games Programme in
Mozambique and from the 1
st
Youth African Games in Morocco in 2011, and then saw a
renaissance in the 2012 African Championships in Tunis.
2010
A
FRICAN
C
HAMPIONSHIPS IN
N
AMIBIA
The Namibian Gymnastics Federation (NGF) organised twelve competitions in eight days, a
challenge that the Organising Committee used to master the mega-Championship that united
junior and senior events in all specialties. NGF did a great job, respecting the norms that govern
similar continental meets.
We applaud organisers for their success. Solid organisation had a positive and direct impact on
gymnast performances in every discipline on the programme, both juniors and seniors. The
technical level fully met our expectations and was the fruit of the efforts and investments made by
the national federations over the past few years. As a result of concrete FIG assistance and aid, as
well as the presence of judges delegated by the FIG Technical Committees in coordination with
UAG, we had no significant problems with technical organisation.
2011A
FRICAN
G
AMES IN
M
OZAMBIQUE
Surprisingly and following the example of five other Olympic disciplines, gymnastics was pulled
from the African Games programme at the final preparatory meeting of the African Higher Sports
Council (CSSA), upon request by the government of the Republic of Mozambique and for reasons
of insufficient Games funds and tardy confirmation of competition venues.
Insufficient infrastructures and a lack of equipment, which would guarantee smooth running and
organisation, were pivotal in the final decision. Swift to react were the UAG, the Union of African
Sport Confederations (UCSA) and the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa
(ACNOA), but we were unable to convince CSSA to come back on its decision, a biased injustice
against the African gymnastics federations (as well as other concerned federations and
confederations). The breadth of their investment and mobilisation over a long period of substantial
preparation was immeasurable, and in vain. This made clear what the future of gymnastics in the
African Games would be.
2011A
FRICA
Y
OUTH
G
AMES IN
M
OROCCO
Like other confederations, UAG was informed of and associated with preparation of the first Africa
Youth Games that Morocco hosted in May 2011. UAG delegates to the Games Organising
Committee, the 1
st
UAG Vice-President and a Member of the MAG Technical Committee, took part
in the various prep stages and worked hard within their commission.
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UNION AFRICAINE DE GYMNASTIQUE