Opening Press Conference Olympic Qualifier

With the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics podium training already under way at the North Greenwich Arena, the international media received their welcome to the Visa International Gymnastics event on Monday at an opening press conference staged by LOCOG Chief Executive Paul Deighton (GBR) and FIG Vice President Slava Corn (CAN).
There are precisely 200 days to go before the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics and Deighton duly emphasised London’s readiness for the Games. The Visa International Gymnastics is the 29th test event of the London Prepares series, the first of 2012 and the biggest one to date with some 300 participating gymnasts and an overall ticket availability of over 40,000.
Satisfied with the public’s interest, the LOCOG CEO reported that most of the ticketed sessions were sold out quickjly, with availability left for the afternoon sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the British Men’s Team will be bidding to qualify.
Corn expressed her delight with the phenomenal media interest in the event as she, welcomed the press representatives back to the impressive London venue that successfully hosted the 2009 Artistic Worlds.
As Corn explained, the event provides an opportunity for LOCOG to test operations ahead of the Games this summer as well as for the gymnasts to get a feel of the venue, and also serves as an Olympic qualifier. For the first time, the gymnastics body is holding a second qualification event for the Olympic Games this year, with the first having been the 2011 World Championships in the three disciplines.
Another first in London will be the live broadcast of the Men’s and Women’s Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics finals on the FIG YouTube channel. And while fans can look forward to more high-quality video clips on YouTube, live scoring will be available on the federation’s event website for the Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions.
In terms of television transmission, the FIG TV crew will produce footage of the event that will be made available to rights-holding broadcasters.
Corn confirmed the registration of a total of 420 media representatives at this event, including 140 representatives of the written press, 101 photographers, and 38 broadcasting companies.
The federation’s Vice President gave credit to the participating delegations, which had to adjust their training schedules for the event as January is usually not a peak time for gymnasts. She confirmed that everything possible was done to ensure the gymnasts’ safety, with the apparatus tested and certified and medical assistance on standby in the arena. The athletes’ health is a high priority for the federation, which runs a successful Academy programme for coaches’ education.
Finally Corn thanked LOCOG Gymnastics Manager Matthew Greenwood and his whole team for their excellent work and cooperation in preparing the event.
The event starts with the qualifiers for the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics on Tuesday at 10:30 am, which will determine the teams and individuals qualifying for the remaining Olympic spots.

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