When the curtain falls on the 15th World Gymnaestrada at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Saturday, the Finnish capital and its inhabitants will bid farewell to their 17,000 international guests who have filled the city’s streets and event venues with their energy, joy and enthusiasm during the past week.
We will look back on seven days full of Gymnastics performances, participation activities, a festive ambiance and lots of happy, smiling faces. The World Gymnaestrada, the largest international non-competitive Gymnastics festival and the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) Gymnastics for All quadrennial flagship event, is not only about Gymnastics displays, but also cultural exchange of its international participants, about creating new friendships and having fun together. If you have seen the groups of gymnasts walking around Helsinki during thepast week or if you have had the chance to attend one of the many performances that took place in 15 different venues in the city, you will have understood what the famous Gymnaestrada spirit is about. Chances are high that the spark has leapt over!
“The event is a huge success,” said Margaret Sikkens Ahlquist (SWE), President of the FIG Gymnastics for All Committee. “I am especially happy with the high number of nearly 21,000 participants that have made their way to Helsinki to live this World Gymnaestrada experience. With the difficult financial situation in the world this is not granted.”
“I highly appreciate the work of the Local Organising Committe,” Sikkens Ahlquist continued. “They have overcome tough challenges with regards to logistics in order to make this big event run smoothly. The system in place has proved to work very well, with security, police, embassies, and the medical service all cooperating perfectly. We have only had 492 medical issues, which is a very low number for such an event. Three times the ambulance had to be called and there was only one case that had to be transmitted to the hospital. We only had minor injuries, nothing serious.”
With regards to the Gymnastics Group Performances at the Messukeskus Expo and Convention Centre, Sikkens Ahlquist reports of a very high level of Gymnastics, with great variety and quality to the productions. “To me quality means that each gymnast performs at his or her own level. From junior to senior, fully able-bodied or with disabilities, from basic Gymnastics movements to high-level techniques, this is Gymnastics for All, and the audience appreciates the full variety of displays.”
Large Group performances, a type of Gymnastics with a long tradition in the host country, have increased in quality since the last World Gymnaestrada, according to Sikkens Ahlquist. “These performances are very difficult to create,” she said. “Choreographers must have special skills to bring it all together, and the participants accept time-consuming preparations. But in the end, we only see happy performers on the field.”
Reflecting on the newly introduced elements at the Helsinki World Gymnaestrada, including the National Afternoons, Midnight Sun Special and World Team Large Group Performance, Sikkens Ahlquist stated: “We want the World Gymnaestrada to develop, and we encourage the organisers to come up with new ideas that our committee then evaluates and decides on their inclusion. While the format of the National Afternoons needs some adjustment, the Midnight Sun Special and the World Team were very successful. This is how we will remember Finland. Endless summer days with more than two thousand gymnasts from 35 different countries performing together in the Olympic Stadium. Fantastic!”
“On behalf of the FIG and the Gymnastics for All Committee I warmly thank the Local Organising Committee and the City of Helsinki for hosting us and for a great cooperation in the preparation and organisation of the World Gymnaestrada,” Sikkens Ahlquist concludes. “And thank you Finland for the extra hours of sunlight that made our enjoyment last even longer this week!”
The fifteenth edition of the World Gymnaestrada, the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) flagship event of the non-competitive Gymnastics for All discipline, kicks off with the Opening Ceremony in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium today.
Held once a quadrennial, the World Gymnaestrada is an international Gymnastics festival that attracts the largest number of active participants of any FIG event. Participation is for everybody, regardless of gender, age, race, religion, culture, ability or social standing.
Gathering nearly 21,000 participants from 53 different countries and representing all continents over the course of seven days, the World Gymnaestrada is being held for the first time in Finland, and is, in terms of international participants, the largest event ever to be held in the country.
With its delegation of nearly 4,000 gymnasts, host Finland will field the largest group of World Gymnaestrada participants, with Switzerland just behind at 3,855, followed by Germany with 2,027 and Portugal with 1,059 participants, respectively.
Although groups from all five continents participate, the World Gymnaestrada is especially popular among European Gymnastics enthusiasts, where Gymnastics for All has a longstanding tradition. While Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have all participated at every single edition since the inaugural event in 1953 in Rotterdam (NED), newcomers for 2015 are Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Dominican Republic, Mozambique, Peru, Puerto Rico and Zimbabwe. All are sending participants to a World Gymnaestrada for the first time.
The official World Gymnaestrada programme includes Opening and Closing Ceremonies, National Evenings, Group Performances, Large Group Performances, City Performances and the FIG Gala.
Specific to the 15th World Gymnaestrada Helsinki 2015 is the “Midnight Sun Special,” which is set for Wednesday, July 15 at the Olympic Stadium and has been incorporated by the Finnish organisers to celebrate the country’s famous “endless summer nights.”
Also new on the programme are the “World Team” and the “National Afternoon” shows. While the World Team performance offers a possibility for gymnasts from all over the world and of all age groups to participate in an international Large Group Programme that is part of the Midnight Sun Special, the National Afternoons complement the National Evenings, showcasing hour-long lasting presentations from specific countries.
Overall, more than 200 hours of Gymnastics performances will be staged in fifteen different venues in Helsinki during the coming week.
Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 – Round 2, Helsinki, Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015
Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014:2015
Olympic champion, Steve Guerdat, led a Swiss victory gallop at the second leg of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League in Helsinki, Finland today. A new venue presented a real challenge for both horses and riders due to restricted space. But the 32-year-old, and the gelding with which he claimed individual gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the enigmatic Nino des Buissonnets, used that to their advantage and left the result beyond doubt with a superb run when second-last to go against the clock.
Last man in was Martin Fuchs, and the 22-year-old steered PSG Future into runner-up spot ahead of Pius Schwizer in third. The Swiss were understandably buoyant at the end of the day. “We Swiss are in good shape right now!” said Schwizer this evening.
New venue
As the 30th Helsinki Horse Show moved to the Helsingin Jäähalli, the city’s oldest indoor ice rink, course designer, Frenchman Frederic Cottier, had to be at his creative best. Guerdat explained, “the arena is quite tight, the length is ok but if it was three or four metres wider then it would be easier. The fences came up really quickly for the horses and riders, but the courses got better every day and we got more used to it. Today’s was the best course of the weekend, and this was definitely the best class” said the man who is now heading the Western European League leaderboard, and well on the way to qualification for the series Final in Las Vegas, USA next April.
Making the cut into the jump-off was not an easy task as there was no room for adjusting stride patterns throughout the 12-fence track. Once riders committed themselves to going on a certain distance they had to stick to their decision even if the fences didn’t come up right, and Italy’s Franco Francesco was eliminated for a fall when the line he took to the penultimate oxer left him too far away, and his grey mare, Banco Popalare Bari Cassandra, decided to slam on the brakes.
With 15 through to the timed round however the 7,000 spectators were guaranteed an exciting battle, and it more than lived up to expectations.
Copybook tour
Great Britain’s Yasmin Pinchen had produced a copybook tour when posting the first clear of the competition with her bay mare Ashkari, but it all went wrong for the 21-year-old Londoner at the second fence on the jump-off track. Riders needed to make a sharp turn to this vertical if they were to be in with any chance of a good placing, but the British pair met it all wrong and racked up a total of 23 faults.
Going later in the draw was an advantage as riders could work out where time could be saved as they moved on to the oxer at fence three and swung left-handed to the planks at five which had taken a significant toll in the first round. From there it was on to the water-tray oxer at six which had also proven influential before a roll-back to the first two elements of the former triple combination. Once that was behind them there was only the final Longines fence, changed from an oxer to a vertical this time around.
Third to go, it was young Brazilian star, Marlon Zanotelli, who set the early target with a great round from Extra van Essene in 36.18 seconds. And his lead wasn’t threatened by a nice, but cautious, clear from Finland’s Anna-Julia Kontio and the elegant grey, Fardon, or by French 23-year-old, Alexandre Fontanelle, who, however, was most impressive with breaking the beam in 39.27 seconds with Prime Time des Vagues.
Five-stride distance
Norwegian veteran, Geir Gulliksen, was the first to attempt a five-stride distance instead of six from the second to the third fence with the hard-pulling Edesa S Banjan, but his time of 37.66 seconds still left Zanotelli out in front. However when, four horses later, Schwizer did the same he swept way into the lead with his stunning eight-year-old Sixtine de Vains who stopped the clock on 35.33. Now it was a matter of who could beat that, and although Frenchman Kevin Staut, with another eight-year-old Ayade de Septon et HDC, gave it his best shot as did Germany’s Christian Ahlmann with Cornado ll, it took last week’s winners, Jur Vrieling and Zirocco Blue, to oust the Brazilian from pole position when crossing the line in 35.78 seconds.
The Dutchman’s chances of doing a back-to-back double were instantly dashed however by Guerdat’s super-smooth run with Nino who was in his element as he soared home in 34.96 seconds. And when fellow-countryman, Fuchs, gave chase with PSG Future and sealed runner-up spot when crossing the line in 35.10, there were big smiles all round in the Swiss camp.
Very happy
“I’m very happy! When I saw Pius I knew we would have a Swiss win and I did what I could but I’m very happy with second place!” said Fuchs afterwards.
Talking about the challenge of riding in today’s relatively small arena, Guerdat joked, “Switzerland is a small country so we are used to small things!” And discussing the jump-off, he pointed out that his ride was more difficult than it appeared. “When I saw Pius go, I thought I can go faster than that if I don’t fall asleep! But when I was riding it then it seemed quite far from fence to fence and it felt quite slow. But Nino is so quick, there were not too many options and I could still add a stride from 2 to 3 and be quick enough” he explained.
With 35 points already on the Western European League leaderboard, the Olympic gold medallist has only a little more to do in order to guarantee his place in the Las Vegas start-list next April. He intends to pick the last few points he needs over the next few weeks.
“Next week I will take Concetto Son to Lyon (FRA) and I will change horse for Verona (ITA) the following week. I’ll go back on Nino for Stuttgart (GER) but I won’t be taking him to the Final. I want to save him for one more championship” he explained.
Swiss riders filled the top three placings at today’s leg of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League series at Helsinki in Finland led by Olympic champions Steve Guerdat and Nino des Buissonnets. (FEI/Tapio Maenpaa)
Result: 1, Nino des Buissonnets (Steve Guerdat) SUI 0/0 34.96; 2, PSG Future (Martin Fuchs) SUI 0/0 35.10; 3, Sixtine de Vains (Pius Schwizer) SUI 0/0 35.33; 4, VDL Zirocco Blue NOP (Jur Vrieling) NED 0/0 35.78; 5, Extra van Essene (Marlon Zanotelli) BRA 0/0 36.18; 6, Cornado ll (Christian Ahlmann) GER 00 36.57; 7, Ayade de Septon Et HCD (Kevin Staut) FRA 0/0 37.24; 8, Edesa S Banjan (Geir Bulliksen) NOR 0/0 37.66; 9, Prime Time des Vagues (Alexandre Fontanelle) FRA 0/0 39.27; 10, Fardon (Anna-Julia Kontio) FIN 0/2 41.11; 11, Sea Coast Forlap DC (Daniel Deusser) GER 0/4 35.90; 12, Gotha FRH (Henrik von Eckermann) SWE 0/4 35.97; 13, Casello (Douglas Lindelow) SWE 0/8 36.50; 14, Connery (Luca Moneta) ITA 0/12 36.48; 15, Ashkari (Yasmin Pinchen) GBR 0/23.
Facts and Figures:
Helsinki, Finland presented the second leg of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League today.
The event took place at a new venue, Helsingin Jäähalli, Helsinki’s oldest indoor ice rink.
The city of Helsinki has hosted the FEI World Cup™ Jumping series for 29 years.
The show this year celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League series takes place over 12 rounds, with riders counting their best six results.
The Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Final will be held in Las Vegas, USA from15-19 April 2015.
Today’s course designer was Frenchman Frederic Cottier who also designed the tracks for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 at Normandy, France.
40 horse-and-rider combinations competed.
1 elimination – for Italy’s Francesco Franco for a fall from Banca Popolare Bari Cassandra at the penultimate fence in the first round.
15 qualified for the second-round jump-off against the clock.
The winner was Switzerand’s Steve Guerdat partnering Nino des Buissonnets, the horse with which he won individual gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Swiss riders filled the top three places – Martin Fuchs lined up second with the 10-year-old PSG Future and Pius Schwizer finished third with Sixtine de Vains.
The youngest horses in today’s competition were both 8-year-olds and both qualified for the jump-off.
Schwizer’s third-placed Sixtine de Vains is only 8 years old.
Fourth place went to The Netherlands’ Jur Vrieling and VDL Zirocco Blue who won the opening leg of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League at Oslo, Norway last Sunday.
After two rounds of the Western European League, today’s winner Steve Guerdat, who finished third last weekend in Oslo, now heads the Western European League leader board with a total of 35 points.
In the Western European League, a total of 40 points is usually sufficient to qualify for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final.
Quotes:
Steve Guerdat SUI, talking about the Swiss working as a team in Helsinki – “it’s great to be able to talk together and train together, and it’s great to have a team on site and not to be on your own”.
Anna-Julia Kontio FIN – “I was very happy with both of my rounds. My target was to finish in the top 10 and I made it! Yesterday in the Grand Prix my horse got nervous in the jump-off and we had two fences down. Today I wanted two clear rounds and I’m happy. I’m also happy that Martin (Fuchs) got something to bring home!”
Steve Guerdat SUI – “It was a fantastic course and a great arena. The Organising Committee did a great job, and the atmosphere was even better than it used to be”.
Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Western European League – Standings after Round 2 at Helsinki (FIN):
1. Steve Guerdat SUI – 35
2. Jur Vrieling NED – 33
3. Marlon Zanotelli BRA – 21
4. Kevin Staut FRA – 21
5. Pius Schwizer SUI – 18
6. Marco Kutscher GER – 17
6. Martin Fuchs SUI – 17
8. Christian Ahlmann GER – 15
9. Douglas Lindelow SWE – 14
10. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum GER – 13
11. Bart Bless NED – 12
12. Geir Gulliksen NOR – 9
13. Alexandre Fontanelle FRA – 8
13. Edwina Tops-Alexander AUS – 8
15. Anna-Julia Kontio FIN – 7
15. Linda Heed SWE – 7
17. Daniel Deusser GER – 6
17. Gregory Wathelet BEL – 6
19. Henrik von Eckermann SWE – 5
19. Penelope Leprevost FRA – 5
This August and September, a wealth of talents will make their debut on the international stage in four FINA disciplines – synchronised swimming, water polo, open water swimming and diving – with the organisation of FINA World Youth and Juniors Championships.
The 14th FINA World Junior Synchro Championships kick off Yesterday, July 30 in Helsinki, Finland with more than 260 swimmers from 34 countries to fight for top honours in solo, duet, team and free combination for five days.
Meanwhile in Istanbul, Turkey (August 2-10) the second edition of the FINA World Men’s Youth Water Polo Championships (18 & U) will bring together 20 teams from the strongest and rising nations in the sport. The women’s Championships will follow two weeks later in Madrid, Spain with 16 teams.
In September (5-7), fresh faces of the open water stage will take the plunge in the Lake of Balaton, Hungary for the second edition of the event while Penza, Russia will welcome the world’s best diving talents from the 9th to 14th for a 20th edition of Junior Worlds.
Joachim Aschenbrenner Takes Gold At ISAF Youth Match Race Worlds
Denmark takes the gold medal in the first ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship, Australia gets silver, and bronze goes to the USA.
Everybody was nervous in the morning as they waited for the wind to fill in. The wind was too light to start racing the important final matches. Only after 1pm the postponement was lowered and the regatta was ready to continue.
The day started with the semi-finals, both already in the situation of 2-0. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) was leading Pierre Quiroga (FRA) 2-0, and Sam Gilmour (AUS) was leading Nevin Snow (USA) 2-0.
In the first pre-start of today Aschenbrenner held Quiroga on the port side for four minutes, before approaching the start line from above. However things started to look bad for Aschenbrenner as the start approached because Quiroga was starting to get to leeward of them. They raised the spinnaker 10 meters from the starting line, and with only six seconds to go won the start just ahead of Quiroga. Aschenbrenner led the race at the first upwind mark and kept that led to progress into the finals.
In the second semi-final match Gilmour took the right and met Snow at the upwind mark, he went behind, protested and got a green. Snow led until the last downwind leg, in the final rounding Gilmore loaded the gun, and the boats headed for the right corner. Both gybed simultaneously and Gilmore took the lead blocking the wind from Snow, Gilmore took the win and continued to the finals with a result 3-0.
Joachim Aschenbrenner Takes Gold At ISAF Youth Match Race Worlds
The final was raced to three points, and the petit final to two. In the first match of the final Aschenbrenner managed to approach the starting line first and shut the door from Gilmour by luffing, Gilmour had to tack and gybe so Aschenbrenner started well ahead. Aschenbrenner held the lead for the rest of the race even with Gilmour just two boat lengths behind on the final downwind.
The wind dropped for the second match but that didn’t stop Aschenbrenner’s form, he took the pre-start, approaching first blocking the wind from Gilmour and kept the lead until the end, and was sitting now at 2-0.
In the third final match the boats stood in the dial-up for 45 seconds. As they started to move backwards, Gilmour protested as the boats converged, but got a green reply from the umpires. As Aschenbrenner turned back to approach the starting line, Gilmour gybed in front of him and took the start. Gilmour sailed to the right of the course while Aschenbrenner sailed up the left. Gilmour rounded ahead at the first windward mark, but Aschenbrenner got a nice position above him. After both gybed Aschenbrenner went past Gilmour, rounding the downwind mark with a lead of two boat lengths. He held the lead until the finish and won gold with a 3-0 result in the finals against Gilmour having lost only two matches in the whole regatta.
There was a lot of action in the petit final too. Snow started ahead, and kept the lead until the last upwind mark. After the rounding France took the lead, but gybed back to the right side of the course first. The finish was tight and Snow took the win with only half a meter.
In the second match Snow started to windward in a quite even start. Quiroga managed to round the first windward mark ahead, but Snow was in position to strike. Snow gybed first to the downwind mark, taking the lead just before the mark. Snow led until the second downwind where the boats converged towards the pin end, with Snow approaching on port and Quiroga on starboard. Snow used his mark room, took the win, and the umpires gave a penalty on Quiroga. 2-0 for Snow giving him the bronze medal for the United States.
The event was concluded with the prize giving ceremony, where Aschenbrenner and the Danish team were given the youth match race world championship title. Aschenbrenner said, “Thank you NJK for hosting such a nice event. The level of race committee and umpiring was high throughout the event. Also thank you for my crew.”
Joachim Aschenbrenner Takes Gold At ISAF Youth Match Race Worlds
GOLD: DEN
Joachim Aschenbrenner
Hans-Christian Rosendahl
Lars-Peter Rosendahl
Sebastian Bennetsen
SILVER: AUS
Sam Gilmour
Adam Negri
Jack Breislin
Christopher Smith
BRONZE: USA
Nevin Snow
Katia DaSilva
Jacob LaDow
Graham Landy
John Wallace
Final results:
1 Joachim Aschenbrenner, DEN
2 Sam Gilmour, AUS
3 Nevin Snow, USA
4 Pierre Quiroga, FRA
5 Mark Lees, GBR
6 Valerio Galati, ITA
7 Chris Steele, NZL
8 Tyler Rice, ISV
9 Markus Rönnberg, FIN
10 Nelson Mettraux, SUI
11 Philip Bendon, IRL
12 Jakob Klitte, SWE
13 Florian Haufe, GER
14 Vladislav Abramov, RUS
15 Slawomir Plichta, POL
The ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship on water action matched the warm climate as the competition heated up on the second day in Helsinki, Finland.
Temperatures in Helsinki reached a new summer high but that not did stop the on-water action with 12 more flights completed. The situation is incredibly tight ahead of the last ten flights.
The day commenced at 09:45 local time with one flight in a dying breeze. As the wind filled in, racing resumed at 11:45 with a 10-11 knot breeze ensuring fair racing across the remaining flights.
Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) is sitting with level with Sam Gilmour (AUS) on 8-2 at the top, matching each other blow for blow. Overnight leader Nevin Snow (USA) sits on eight points but counts three losses.
The trio are followed by Mark Lees (GBR) at 7-2 and Valerio Galati (ITA), Pierre Quiroga (FRA) and Chris Steele (NZL) on 7-3.
One notable thing about the regatta thus far is the comments from the Umpires and Race Committee about the behaviour of the young sailors. Cool, calm and composed heads ensures that match racing is truly a gentleman’s sport in the youth division.
The racing continues on Friday at 09:30 local time. The forecast is for similar conditions with a lot of sun and heat, but luckily also some wind.
jibing action
2014 ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship Results:
Joachim Aschenbrenner, DEN 8-2
Sam Gilmour, AUS 8-2
Nevin Snow, USA 8-3
Mark Lees, GBR 7-2
Valerio Galati, ITA 7-3
Pierre Quiroga, FRA 7-3
Chris Steele, NZL 7-3
Nelson Mettraux, SUI 5-5
Tyler Rice, ISV 5-6
Markus Ronnberg, FIN 4-5
Philip Bendon, IRL 4-6
Jakob Klitte, SWE 3-7
Slawomir Plichta, POL 1-8
Florian Haufe, GER 1-9
Vladislav Abramov, RUS 0-11
Two practice days are behind the competitors and racing at the 2014 ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship is set to commence Today Wednesday 23 July.
Both Monday and Tuesday have been quite ideal conditions, having had nice moderate wind and sun. Only on Tuesday afternoon the wind got lighter.
The teams have trained pre-starts, manoeuvres and done some practice races with the J80 boats.
Tight races have shown the high level of the teams and promises good action for the rest of the week.
The opening ceremony was held on the terrace of the Blekholmen Island. Claes Tallberg, the commodore of the sailing club NJK, welcomed the competitors, and explained that the NJK Sailing Center is located at Western Helsinki, and that the Blekholmen Island is a base for NJK keel boats.
NJK is the oldest sailing club in Finland and has seen several Olympic medallists within its membership from 1910-2012, including Team Silja Lehtinen, London 2012 bronze medallists in Women’s Match Racing.
Commodore Tallberg was proud that NJK was chosen to host the first ever Youth Match Racing Worlds.
ISAF Vice President Adrienne Greenwood welcomed all participants to the regatta.
She explained her delight in Finland’s selection to host the inaugural edition of the regatta considering it’s an active match racing country, with 34 match racing events in 2014.
Greenwood explained that she was happy to see that 15 countries with top skippers have the interest to compete in match racing at this level in a youth competition.
The event was declared open as each team raised their national flag after the canon shot. Racing is scheduled to commence at 09:30 local time on 23 July and concludes on 27 July.
2014 ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship Competitors:
Vladislav Abramov (RUS)
Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN)
Philip Bendon (IRL)
Valerio Galati (ITA)
Sam Gilmour (AUS)
Florian Haufe (GER)
Jakob Klitte (SWE)
Mark Lees (GBR)
Nelson Mettraux (SUI)
Pierre Quiroga (FRA)
Slawomir Plichta (POL)
Tyler Rice (ISV)
Markus Rönnberg (FIN)
Nevin Snow (USA)
Chris Steele (NZL)
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach spoke today of the leading role sport can play in advancing gender equality, during a speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 6th International Working Group (IWG) World Conference on Women and Sport in Helsinki, Finland. The Conference, taking place from 12 to 15 June, is officially supported by the IOC and has the motto “Lead the Change, Be the Change”.
Welcomed onto stage by Finnish IOC member Peter Tallberg, who was a fellow member of the IOC’s first Athletes’ Commission in 1981, the President told the audience about the progress that the IOC has made in terms of women’s participation in sport.
“Women have competed at the Games since 1900, but by London 2012 that figure was approaching parity with nearly 45 per cent of competitors being women athletes. Indeed, some of the biggest teams, Team Finland for example, had more women members than men”, he said.
IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH. Photo Credit, IOC Media Team
“The London Games also saw another significant landmark with women competing in every sport,” he added.
Sport has been, and continues to be, a vital tool to show that another world is possible, and that role continues to this day,” President Bach told the audience. “Our central belief written into our Charter is that sport should be available to all regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or any other form of discrimination, including sexual orientation. As a sports organisation we cannot force countries to change their legislation but what we can do is give a shining example to the world of how a society based on these core beliefs should operate.”
President Bach praised the progress accomplished over the years in increasing girls’ and women’s participation on the field of play, but urged to increase the efforts of getting more women into decision-making positions:
“We must do more to bring women into sports leadership. We have seen what women can do on the field of play. We need their intellect, energy and creativity in the administration and management of sport as well.”
Also speaking at the Opening Ceremony were the first female head of state in Finland (2000-2012), President Tarja Halonen, who is Patron in Chief and Chair of the Honorary Committee of the 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport; Raija Mattila, IWG Co-Chair, International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG); Pia Viitanen, Minister of Culture and Housing, Finland; Peter Tallberg, IOC member and five-time Olympian from Finland; Sir Philip Craven, IOC member and President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC); and Risto Nieminen, President of the Finnish Sports Confederation (Valo).
Anita Defrantz, OC Executive Board members and Olympian
President Bach also said that while sport can help pushing for and showcasing gender rights in the world, it could not initiate the change on its own. Combatting discrimination and injustice, he said, is always a team effort.
“Sport has proven its value as an effective tool for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. To make real progress in our quest for gender equality and open access to physical activity for girls and women worldwide, we need close collaboration with governments, educational institutions, the private sector and civil society at all levels.”
Claudia Bokel, IOC Executive Board members and Olympian
IOC Executive Board members and Olympians Anita DeFrantz and Claudia Bokel are also on the programme to talk about the topics of “Leading the Change in Sports Policy” and “Sport without Fear”, respectively.
Prior to the Opening Ceremony, President Bach held separate meetings with the President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and with the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou.
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