TheInternational Gymnastics Federation (French:Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, abbr.FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines ofgymnastics. Its headquarters is inLausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 July 1881 inLiège, Belgium, making it the world's oldest existing international sports organisation.[2] Originally called the European Federation of Gymnastics, it had three member countries—Belgium, France and the Netherlands—until 1921, when non-European countries were admitted and it received its current name.[3]
After the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIG barred Russian athletes and officials, including judges.[4] It also announced that "all FIG World Cup and World Challenge Cup events planned to take place in Russia ... are cancelled, and no other FIG events will be allocated to Russia ... until further notice." FIG also banned the Russian flag at its events.[5] In 19 July 2023, FIG decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and support personnels to participant events under individual neutral athletes.[6]
The main governing bodies of the federation are the president and vice presidents, the Congress held every two years, the Executive Committee, the Council, and technical committees for each of the disciplines.
In 2023, there were 161 national federations affiliated with FIG, one of which have been suspended, as well as one associated federation, one provisional federation and the following five continental unions:[7]
The FIG regulates the age at which gymnasts are allowed to participate in senior-level competitions. The purpose is to protect young gymnasts. This has caused some controversy, and there have been cases of age falsification.[16]
^"Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique". FIG. Retrieved2018-07-27. (This page includes a search form that returns results for continental unions, affiliated federations, associated federations, or provisional federations.)