The FIG Trampoline Newsletter No. 8 / September 2003

World Cup Series 2003 - 2004

At the end of last year it seemed, that we would not have any qualifying World Cup event in 2003, but thanks to the great efforts of the organizers, who agreed to run these events at a very short notice, in Levallois,FRA, Oostende, BEL, Praha, CZE and their respective Federations, we ended up with the originally planned three events for this year. The whole Trampoline Technical Committee likes to express a big thank you.

The Federations from around the World already thanked with their participation at these events. The record number of entries showed, that the World Cup Series is seen as a the most prestigious event apart from our World and Continental Championships, and especially this year was seen as the best test for the upcoming World Championships in Hanover, GER, the qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Athens 2004. Our great concern is Tumbling. Only at Levallois it was included in the World Cup and that is sure not enough for the athletes and coaches, who prepare for the World Championships.

It seems to be much better for the next year. The program for Swedish World Cup 15 - 18 April 2004 already included Tumbling, and also two other potential organizers, who only wait for the date of the European Championships to be fixed before they will send in their official application and dates, promised to have Tumbling included.

World Championships 2003

The Lower Saxony Gymnastics Federation in Hanover as the local organizer and the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) reported to be ready to welcome their guests from all over the World coming to the World Championships and one week before to the World Age Group Games. And of course they, as all of us, are very exited to see what will happen in the qualifications, which are also the qualifying events for the Olympic Games 2004 in Trampoline Individual and for the World Games 2005 for Tumbling, Double Mini-Tramp and Synchronized Trampoline, and who will be the medallists, now that we know the results of the three last World Cups, where almost all expected favorite nations and athletes took part, including some newcomers, who really could surprise some of the long established federations. All finals will be broadcasted with an international TV signal, the regional and national TV stations will have live sessions at the finals. All previews and information about schedule, draw, start lists, etc. can be seen on the website of the NTB under: www.trampoline-world-championships-2003.com or of course at the FIG website: www.fig-gymnastics.com.

Code of Points

The TC set the timetable for the production of the new Code of Points and necessary changes of the Technical Regulations at their last two meetings. Proposals from different member federations were already discussed and partly included in the discussions for the future. A first draft will be revised at our meeting in Hanover, October 2003. The Code should be ready at least at our meeting in May 2004. Some of our thoughts (discussions) and decisions are published here and the federations are invited to send their comments or feel free to discuss this with us during the upcoming World Championships.

TUM
The TC was of the opinion that two Paragraphs in the Code of Points require changing.
Difficulty value - reduce tempo value to 0.2 points and round-off and flic-flacs to a value of 0.1 points.
Repetition of skills - change to ”a skill is not considered to be repeated, if it is performed after a different skill”.

TRA
It was agreed to look at the possibility of introducing 20 skills and additional points to overall score for flight duration during routine. It was also agreed to discuss team composition (4 athletes, all scores to count, 4 teams in final), introduction of background music , as well as introduction of sleeveless leotards for women (All disciplines). Because of the record number of entries at Worlds and also World Cups and a hopefully further development, we discussed the competition format and either going for one more day or trying to be faster with separate judges’ panels for 1st and 2nd routine.

DMT
The members of the TC have the feeling that Double Mini-Trampoline has not progressed the way our other disciplines had. There was also a lack of competition. In an effort to encourage more participation, it was proposed that the difficulty system for the discipline should perhaps be changed to the same as Tumbling and that an introduction to the World Cup Series 2005/06 should be made. Because of some rumours the TC states, that Double Mini-Trampoline is a vital part of our Trampoline sport and will be in the future.

General
All landing rules (deductions) will be revised to make it easier for all judges.

Technical Matters
Judges Analysis - There is still some work to be done on the project, the TC was of the opinion that we were on the right lines to produce a full proof analyses of judges scores for the first time at the FRA World Cup event. Further tests were and will be carried out in BEL, CZE and GER.
The TC decided that judges’ scores, as written down on the score sheets, MUST be scrutinised after each round by the Chair of Judges Panel. Alterations to marks will not be accepted.

Synchronised Equipment
The testing of the Synchronised Equipment is now almost complete and will be available for purchase soon. It was the intention to use this equipment for Hanover, as the final test. It was also the intention to introduce this equipment for all FIG official competitions for the next cycle.

The Technical Committee wishes all athletes, that the last weeks of preparation for the World Championships 2003 will be without any injuries and that all then can compete at their highest level at the top event of the year!

Horst KUNZE, President of the Trampoline Technical Committee

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