Games of the XXX Olympiad
London (GBR), July 27 – August 12, 2012

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, July 27, 2011: Today, July 27, marks the one year to go count down to the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London (GBR).
Traditionally figuring among the top sports on the Olympic Programme in terms of attendance and number of TV spectators, Gymnastics is still the cream of the crop when it comes to the Olympics. With Gymnastics events having sold out quickly during the run on Olympic tickets, fans will experience gymnastic action and an Olympic atmosphere in packed venues next year in London.

Schedule

Gymnastics will kick off with Artistic at the North Greenwich Arena on July 28, starting with the Men’s Qualification. Women’s Qualification is set for July 29, Team Finals for July 30 (M) and July 31 (W), Individual All-around Finals for August 1 (M) and August 2 (W) and Apparatus Finals from August 5 – 7.

Rhythmic Gymnastics is scheduled for August 9 – 12 at the Wembley Arena, with the Individual and Group Qualifications taking place on August 9 – 10, the Individual All-around Final on August 11 and the Group All-around Final on August 12.

The Men’s Trampoline Qualifications and Finals will be held on August 3, while the Women’s event is set for August 4, both at the North Greenwich Arena.

Qualification process

In May 2008, the FIG Council convened in Cape Town (RSA) where they approved a new qualifying system for gymnasts aspiring to the Olympic Games.

New rules have since come into force, which affect the 324 male and female gymnast quota allocated by the IOC.

These gymnasts can qualify at two events: their respective discipline's 2011 World Championships and the Olympic Test Events. For Artistic, the fateful date is October 7 - 16 in Tokyo (JPN); for Rhythmic, September 19 - 25 in Montpellier (FRA); and for Trampoline, November 17 - 20 in Birmingham (GBR).

The Olympic Test Events will be held inside the dome of London's North Greenwich Arena, January 10 - 18, 2012, in the same venue that hosted the Artistic World Championships in 2009. Artistic is scheduled for January 10 – 13, Trampoline for January 13 and Rhythmic for January 16 – 18. Find the detailed schedule here!

Artistic Gymnastics

The Artistic Gymnastics events at the 2012 Olympic Games include a Team and an Individual All-around competition for both Men and Women, plus the six respectively four Apparatus events (Men: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar; Women: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise).

98 men and 98 women will qualify, including the top eight teams (40 gymnasts) at the 2011 World Championships (CI) and the top four teams (20 athletes) based on Team rankings at the 2012 Olympic Test Event (CI). Places will be allocated as needed to the individual event medal winners (Gold, Silver, Bronze) by name at the 2011 World Championships and provided they fulfil the minimum requirements. One place will be allocated by the IOC Tripartite Commission and the remaining places are given by the FIG as needed to ensure the participation of a male and female gymnast from the host country, and that each continent is represented (Africa, America, Asia and Europe, by two, and Oceania, by one gymnast.

For the Olympic Games, athletes must be at least 16 years of age in the year of competition and teams are now composed of five gymnasts. The final list of qualifiers will not be published until after the conclusion of the Test Event.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

The 2012 Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics tournament is composed of an Individual and a Group All-around competition, with Individuals competing on Hoop, Ball, Clubs and Ribbon, while Groups perform on 5 Balls and 3 Ribbons / 2 Hoops. 24 individual gymnasts and 12 groups each composed of six gymnasts add up to a total of 88 participants in the London Rhythmic events.

In Individuals, the field will include the top 15 gymnasts based on their performances at the 2011 World Championships All-around (CII), with a maximum of two per country; the top five from the 2012 Olympic Test Event (CI) will also qualify with a maximum of one per country. Four wild card selections, including one from the IOC Tripartite Commission, will be made to ensure that athletes from the host country and from each continent participate.

The groups will qualify the top six based on performances at the 2011 World Championships, the top four based on performances at the 2012 Olympic Test Event and two spots allocated by the FIG to ensure that the host country and at least three continents are represented. Athletes must be at least 16 years of age in the year of the competition to compete in the Olympic Games.

Trampoline Gymnastics

16 men and 16 women will participate in London’s Olympic Trampoline Gymnastics events, which include Individual Qualifications and Finals.

Qualifiers include the top eight ranked men and women from the 2011 World Championships (Finals), with a maximum of two per country, the top five ranked men and five women from the Qualifications at the 2012 Olympic Test Event (maximum 1 per country), two gymnasts (man or woman) nominated by the FIG to ensure the participation of athletes from the host country and each continent, and one from the IOC Tripartite Commission.

Athletes must be at least 18 years of age in the year of competition to compete in the Olympic Games.

London 2012 social media activities 1 year from the finish line

To celebrate one year to go to the London 2012 Olympic Games online, London 2012 has created an interactive Twitter stadium and world map. Visit www.london2012.com/1yeartogo where you can see what the athletes are saying about London 2012, see which teams Twitter fans around the world are supporting using the #1yeartogo hashtag, and tweet your support for your team in the click of a button. You can also upload videos and photos and have them appear on a world map alongside the many messages received from the world’s athletes.