FIG impressed with Doha’s preparation for World C’ship

A delegation from International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) recently toured the Aspire Dome to inspect the Qatar Gymnastics Federation’s (QGF)  latest preparations as it gears up to host the FIG Artistic World Championships scheduled in October this year.For the first time in the Middle East, the FIG Artistic World Championships will be held in Qatar. The FIG delegation included director of men’s artistic gymnastics Celine Cachemaille, director of women artistic gymnastics Terhi Toivanen, and director of television broadcasting, communications and marketing Olivier Strebel.The delegation’s visit kicked off with a tour of the Aspire Dome to inspect the hall that hosts the competition, all entrances and exits and facilities. They then toured the offices assigned for the FIG members, meeting rooms, the medical centre, the doping centre, players changing rooms, players’ entry and exit places, as well as facilities assigned for media interviews with players participating in the tournament.The delegation inspected the hall competitions and training for players who will take part in the tournament to see the latest arrangements made and to carefully monitor and present recommendations to ensure success of the tournament at organisational and technical level in Doha.The delegation then visited the Aspire training grounds, which included men’s and ladies’ rooms, and inspected the women’s sports committee’s hall, which includes two training rooms for men and one for women.During the tour, the members of the delegation said they were impressed by the inspected sports facilities, adding that the great success achieved by the tournaments in Doha is not unusual in light of the great sporting development that led Qatar to win hosting of many major sports events, including the Asian Games in 2006, the 2015 World Handball Championships and the World Gymnastics series for 11 years in a row, in addition to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.They also praised the capable Qatari sports cadres in organising major tournaments, in addition to winning many positions in the various international federations, a matter which led Doha to occupy a prominent position on the world sport map. The delegation also made further visits to all the candidate hotels where guests of the World Championship will stay.After the tour, the FIG delegation met with the president and members of the Organising Committee of the Artistic World Championships and presented a number of suggestions and perceptions during the meeting and also discussed the means of mobility between hotels and stadiums and training.Another meeting between the director of FIG broadcasting rights and committees working in the championship was held to discuss other details.Ali al-Hitmi, QGF President and executive director of the World Championships, said that the delegation’s tour evaluated the procedures and preparations of the local Organizing Committee of the championship in securing the safety and security of the championship, the teams and the public, as well as mechanisms for organising public, technical arrangements and press centres for the media.Al-Hitmi said that the FIG delegation acknowledged that Qatar has wonderful sports facilities that meet international standards, affirming FIG’s satisfaction at the arrangements being carried out by the Organising Committee in terms of preparations, plans, mechanisms used, stadium preparations and training grounds.The QGF President said that the FIG’s inspection tour confirmed that the preparations of the Organizing Committee of the championship are going well and that Doha is looking forward to receiving the world artistic gymnastics stars.The Organizing Committee has gained great organisational experience and management in dealing with tournaments and related administrative and logistical preparations that are in line with the standards and requirements of the FIG, he said, noting that Qatar builds on its previous successes to deliver an amazing the World Championships and benefit from the great development witnessed during the past years in sport infrastructure, facilities and transportation networks, airports, as well as its growing global prestige as a tourist destination.