Wednesday, October 19, 2011

So What Exactly is FIG, Anyway?

If we’re friends on Facebook and you’ve noticed “FIG” all over my statuses, or you’ve come across the Page on your own, you’re probably a little curious as to what the heck FIG is. For all you French speaking people, FIG stands for the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique…otherwise known as the International Federation of Gymnastics(IFG). Believe it or not, it is the oldest international sports organization!It was founded in 1881 (yes, that’s not a typo), in Liege, Belgium. It is the governing body of competitive gymnastics and its mission is to promote the sport all over the world. 

You’re probably thinking: “Why would I watch gymnastics when I barely enough time to watch the hockey game?” Be not fooled friends, for I understand your skepticism. But when I actually got to thinking about it, all hockey players really do is skate around the ice and try to shoot a puck in a net (and I’m not bashing the sport for I am a serious Habs fan at heart); meanwhile we have a bunch of talented, non rich, just-like-us (but way more flexible) gymnasts coming from all areas of the globe that are hardly even noticed… why is that? After all, they have multiple events (beam, bars, vault, floor) that they essentially have to be PERFECT at. Every land has to stick, and every toe has to be pointed. Thanks to FIG, I have actually been able to not only get acquainted with the sport, but I have realized that I actually LOVE watching it! I get to witness young people from all over the globe work hard toachieve their dream of being an Olympic gold medalist one day.

Anyways, it is something that everyone should check out. If you are serious and want to be kept up to date with gymnastic events, you can become a fan on Facebook. If you just feel like checking out the sport itself (the gymnasts just attended the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan) FIG's YouTube Channel has been a great resource to me when I’m craving my gymnastics fix. Let’s not forget Twitter either. It has great up to date information and pictures as well.

Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do!

Article by: Kayla Robinson

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