Draw held for individual rhythmic and artistic gymnastics events

June 16, the drawing of lots of the 2013 SU artistic and rhythmic gymnastics competition took place in Kazan, Russia. Istvan Karácsony and Josef Robert Zellweger, FISU CT Chairs for Rhythmic and Artistic Gymnastics, were present to host the drawings.

The first drawing was held for rhythmic gymnastics. Athletes from 23 countries will compete in this sport, including 35 athletes for the individual events and five teams for the group events. The order of their performances was determined in compliance with the FISU regulations.

The organisers added some local colour to the draw by hiding the countries' names and their order of appearance inside Russian nesting, or 'matrioshka' dolls, decorated with the marks of the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan. Two young gymnasts were also on hand to help FISU CT Chair for Rhythmic Gymnastics Josef Robert Zellweger.

“Using the matrioshka dolls turned the draw into a very beautiful and heart-warming experience: that has never been done anywhere else before,” acknowledged Zellweger. “I am grateful for the help from these wonderful athletes. I think this is a very important and interesting experience for them. After all, they might become future champions themselves,” he said.

According to the draw, Russian gymnasts will perform 3rd and 33rd in the individual programme, while the Russian group will be fifth in the group events.

Later, the draw was held for artistic gymnastics, in which more than 200 athletes from 41 countries will compete and 103 judges will officiate. The draw determined the order of performance at both individual and team competitions.

A pleasant surprise came when seven-year-old gymnast Artur Sinichkin took part in the draw. He comes from an athletic family, with an older brother on the Russian national team. Not to be outdone, Artur has been involved with gymnastics since the age of four. Two young volunteers, Adelina and Kamil, also helped Artur with the draw.

Istvan Karácsony, FISU CT Chair for Artistic Gymnastics, was pleased with the procedure of the draw: “The preparation was excellent,” he said. “The regulations were observed fully during the draw. I hope the competition will be conducted at an equally high level because many gymnasts will be coming to Russia,” he said.

The FISU representative took particular note of his young assistant, shook his hand, presented him with the Games souvenirs and said he looked forward to seeing him at the event.

The 2013 Summer Universiade artistic gymnastics competition will be held on July 7-10, with rhythmic gymnastics tournament taking place on July 14-17.