DOHA: Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) joined hands with Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum (QOSM) to promote the sport through an Activation Programme at QOSM today.

The programme is a part of World Gymnastics Day that will be celebrated on 19 September.

A host of young children draped in colourful attire took part in the demonstration of artistic and rhythmic gymnastics amid the presence of QGF and QOSM officials and parents.

“It gives us immense pleasure to involve kids and children in gymnastics. Sports is all about fitness and gymnastics gives that sharp edge to keep our mind and body fit,” said QGF Secretary General Ms Abeer Al Bouanain.

“Gymnastics is no less important than other sports. We are keen to develop it among young children from an early age. It’s also a fun sport and its popularity has increased in recent times,” she added.

“I thank QOSM administration for their contribution and unstinted support to make this event successful.”

The programme started with two small groups performing artistic and rhythmic actions under the guidance of QGF coaches and trainers.  

“We’re delighted to welcome QGF to the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum,” said Richard Tremere, Head of Activation at QOSM.

QOSM aims to promote sport and physical activity across the country through such activities to create awareness and help people from different walks of life to become more active by participating in different sports including gymnastics.

“The performances were fantastic and provided great entertainment for visitors at the museum. I’m sure it will inspire more children to try gymnastic activities. Many thanks to all gymnasts and coaches for a wonderful show. We look forward to future events and celebrating gymnastics in Qatar,” added Mr Richard.

DOHA: Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) president Mr Ali Al Hitmi led a three-member delegation at the FIG Gymnastics For All Colloquium 2022 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mr Al Hitmi was accompanied by QGF General Secretary Ms Abeer Al Buainain and Board Member Mr Essa Al Hitmi. 

"QGF attended all editions of the World Gymnaestrada since 2003. It's very important for our Federation to be present to all FIG events and promote our QGF," said Mr Al Hitmi. 

A job well done

DOHA: The Qatar Gymnastics Federation (QGF) under the leadership of its president Mr Ali Ahmed Al Hitmi has done wonders for its way of functioning in the last one decade.

The QGF has received accolades for its active role in promoting the sport in the country, and Mr Al Hitmi showed praises on the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and other stakeholders for the sport’s development.

“Without QOC’s support, we couldn’t have succeeded,” he added.

Recently, junior and sub-junior gymnasts travelled to Portugal for an extensive training programmes, which are a part of QGF’s development strategy.

Excerpts:  

Tell us about the QGF’s development programmes.

The QGF always has big dreams to promote gymnastics. We’re working hard to make the sport mandatory at schools. In the past couple of years, we’ve been able to form age-group teams for boys and girls. They’ve done well at the GCC and Arab Championships, but we want to achieve good results at top international competitions. That’s our target.

How the annual FIG World Cup have helped position Qatar as a sporting destination?

The sports world fully trusts Qatar. We have hosted and organized multiple tournaments, including the World Championships in 2018 which featured 360 gymnasts.

Doha annually hosts a round of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup. The past tournaments have helped us in a big way to understand the intricacies involved in hosting a major event.

Several teams have had come to Doha for training in the past. How has that helped QGF?

In the past, gymnasts from Great Britain, Australia, Indonesia and some Arab nations have trained in our training center. We’re happy that they preferred Doha. It’s something that we’re proud of. It also helped us in a big way as our own gymnasts also got to train and shared experiences with them. 

DOHA: The Islamic Solidarity Games which ended last week in in Konya (Turkey) turned out to be a great exposure for Qatar’s artistic gymnasts – Rakan Al Harith and Duha Al Habshi.

The competition was a great experience for the duo, who competed in their respective events against some of the best in the world.

Rakan, who graduated from the Aspire Academy last June, was confidence personified in his pet event pommel.

Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, Nariman Kurbanov (Kazakhstan) and Ferhat Arıcan (Turkey) finished on the podium.  

Turkey won the individual all-around and team gold medals as Adem Asil was the star of the show for hosts, who retained the men’s team title.