From the excellent Gymnaestrada Media Centre:
The World Gymnaestrada has begun! …
Today, Beaulieu Lausanne hosted 188 performances, each one more astonishing than the last, representing 46 of the 55 participating delegations.
The Swiss Evenings took place at the Sports Center of Malley, each one attended by 5000 spectators. From the start, these evenings generated lively interest. The entrance tickets, which were available from the 18th of March, were in fact sold out in the first two hours. During these evenings, 20 groups from all over Switzerland, with a total of nearly 900 athletes of all ages, presented performances which they had been practicing for two years. …
Aside from Opening/Closing Ceremonies and the FIG Gala, the biggest draws of the week are Les Soirees Nationales, the National Nights, 14 shows in all.
The opening number at the host night was an impressive 12 sets simultaneous swinging rings. (Love front uprise and inlocate on the forward swing.)
Both Men and Women showed a lot of difficulty on this near forgotten apparatus, mats only on the dismount side! (Actually, the gymnastics was VERY safe, over all.)
Swiss engineering and efficiency was evident in the disassembly and removal of the massive structures.
My favourite act was dancer / acrobats inside Swiss pup tents. Hilarious. (I will post video later.)
The crowd loved a bizarre bit, older dancers dressed as Cheese, especially when giant fondue forks arrived.
We saw swinging rope ladders, 6 synchro tramps, hand supported P Bars, silks, scooters, inline skaters, … and much, much more. A dance troupe called “Objectif Gymnastique” impressed by integrating physically and mentally challenged performers.
Gymnaestrada is all good. There’s no downside. Win – win – win. No losers.
I will be posting more on RecGymnastics.com.
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