TODAY, the international gymnastics community poignantly said farewell to Karl-Heinz ZSCHOCKE, a big representative of world's artistic gymnastics, in the German capital Berlin, who died January 12.
More than 120 mourners from all over the world - among them a delegation of the F.I.G, the UEG president Dimitrios Dimotropoulos (GRE), Rainer Brechtken, president of the German gymnastics federation DTB and a lot of companions of an engaged life said Good Bye to the long-time president of the Technical Committee of FIG, who died on January 12th ...
The funeral speech was spoken by the 1972 Olympic Champion Klaus Koeste ....

fig-press: -- The "Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique" (F.I.G.) has settled on Lausanne for its head office. Members of the Executive took their decision yesterday at an extraordinary assembly in the presence of their President, Bruno Grandi ...

In an interview on the U.S channel 4KNBC the member of the 1996 "Magnificent Seven" US  team", Dominique DAWES (31) said: "I backed away [from gymnastics] for about a year and realized, 'I need to come back to the sport.'
Dawes, in Culver City (Calif.) for a meet, said. "After my three Olympics, I've definitely changed my passion, and it's focused on motivating young people, as well as women."
More than a decade removed from helping the U.S. snag Olympic gold, renowned gymnast Dominique Dawes is still immersed in the sport, albeit from a different vantage point.

Gymnastics elite of the future - live!
On March 1st the 13th International Junior-Team-Cup 2008 will take place in Berlin. Previously one month before the Berlin's hosts register a new participating record:  28 teams, representing 19 nations and 4 continents!
This team competition is a high-class event for junior gymnasts. Entries from top gymnastics nations like last year's winner Japan, USA, Australia, Belarus and further 24 (!) countries have been confirmed!
Australians and Canadians arrived as first and started their training together with the German host. And titleholder Japan looks like the big favorite after the today's training. The US boys from Iowa arrived today and on Friday will held a complete training day for all at the competition hall ...

... to match with the other candidates for the Junior European Championships as well as with the strong teams from other continents.

Gymnastics elite of the future - live!
This is a great opportunity for all visitors to see the gymnastics elite of the future live:
More and more training groups as well as coaches of younger gymnasts use this special competition for a trip to Berlin:
Where else would you be able to the see future World- or Olympic Champions from Japan and other countries at such a young age?

The participating teams compete in two groups on March 1st 2008:
The first group starts at 10:00 a.m., the second group starts at 3:00 p.m.

* GYMmedia-review:

>> 12. Intern. Junior-Team Cup 2007
>> 11. International Junior Team Cup 2006; 
>> 10. International Junior Team Cup 2005

...  the event formerly was called "OBI"-Cup:

The German vice all-around and high bar world champion Fabian Hambüchen, - winning the bronze medal with his team at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, was elected as the "German Sportsman of the Year 2007", and the German artistic Gymnastics men's team ranked on sixth place - even in front of the German soccer team (8th) - it's a little sensation in Germany of course, but it is also a proof of Germany's long gymnastics tradition in this kind of sports and its huge infrastructure with more than 5 million members in the world's biggest national gymnastics federation (DTB) with more than 20.000 clubs in nearly 20 regional federations.
This election is a big motivation in this country for the Olympic Year 2008!
>> ... read more at the German platform of GYMmedia

The team and partners of the European Gymnastics Service GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL
wishes all of its business partners, clients and customers, without those engagement the development of such a gym news system were impossible -
and also all users and friends of gymnastics from nearly 137 countries day by day.

** PEACEFULLY & HAPPY NEW OLYMPIC YEAR 2016 **

Cuba and China are enlarging their cooperation in sports as part of the preparation of athletes from both countries for the Olympic Games of Beijing next summer. Vice president of the Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), Sen. Angel Iglesias, told the press that groups of Cuban athletes will participate in 19 training camps in the Asian country while Chinese athletes will compete in several tournaments on the island. China will be represented for the first time in the fourth edition of the Cuban Olympiad, which this year is scheduled for April 12-24.

According to French media reports, now a French court has agreed to hear the complaint against national head coach Yves Kieffer brought by the family of 16-year-old gymnast  Cloé Briand (right). Kieffer has asked to "temporarily" step down from his post.
French media published this week, that the board of the French Gymnastics Federation (FFG)  asked its President Jacques Rey to take action to absolve the French women's artistic gymnastics coach YvesKieffer from his duties ....

The international gymnastics community has lost one of its most respected members and an exceptional person.

Karl-Heinz ZSCHOCKE, the former head coach of the GDR artitic gymnastics men's team and long-standing president of the Technical Committee for Men's Gymnastics of the International Gymnastics Federation (F.I.G.), who in the last few years was its honorary vice president, died after a short, serious illness in a Berlin hospital on Saturday evening....

Zschocke lead the GDR team to a bronze medal behind Japan and the USSR at the 1966 World Championships, held in the Westfalenhalle in Dotrmund. Leipzig native Matthias Brehme became the first German since Helmut Bantz in 1954 to rank among the top ten gymnasts in the all-around.

Walter Freivogel (88), who judged four Olympic Games for West Germany, says about Zschocke:
“Even during the most difficult political times he would never accept any factual or human errors, which was almost a miracle considering the often tricky global situation.”

During the three decades of his international judging career, Zschocke influenced the progressive development of the Code of Points perhaps more than any other expert and was later in charge of its creation together with other experts!

Zschocke's  principles, shared in an interview with the German gymnastics LEON* Magazine in 2005, are basically rules for modern gymnastics:

“ - There is an old saying: Execution beats difficulty!
In my opinion, this is the most important rule in gymnastics.

” - When speaking of honesty, I have to say that the federations are under an obligation to their judges.

” - A good judge is a person who applies the CoP as it is expected and who conscientiously and honestly judges the gymnasts, regardless of their nationality."

 The FUNERAL* CEREMONY
will held 2008, January 29 , at 2 p.m.  at the Berlin's Crematorium Baumschulenweg (Big Hall),
Kiefholz Street 221, 12 437 BERLIN.

*- The act of burial will held to a later present  time and in a limited manner of family, only!

The National Malaysian Sports Council has hired Chinese coach Zhang Zifeng (pic) to add depth to the Malaysian men's artistic gymnastics team.

The 39-year old former Chinese gymnast (1984 - 1987) comes with the credentials of having coached the Chinese national team between 1998 to 2001and he will begins his work 2008 under a two-year contract ...

After serving as a national gymnast from 1984-1987, Zifeng went on to coach the Chinese national team between 1998 and 2001 before moving to the Hebei training centre as their chief coach from 2001-2005.
Among the gymnasts who emerged as world-beaters under his charge were Chen Yibing and Li Di, gold medallists in the pommel horse at the World Championships and World Cup series respectively.

Zifeng said that his experiences, both as a gymnast and as a coach, had helped him to understand gymnasts better.
“Some may have discipline problems but I have a way to deal with them. Malaysia may not have a strong men's team now. Let me work on it. I have to find out the system used here and discover new talent,” he said.
For now, Zifeng will have to work with Korat SEA Games gold medallist Ooi Wei Siang, Lum Wan Foong, Mohd Azzam Azmi and Mohd Shahril Johari.
*source: the star