Altay Hasanov on Trampolining World Cup in Baku: Tomorrow you will see something new

Tomorrow, for the second time in its history, Azerbaijan will host international competitions in trampolining, the Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, Altay Hasanov, told reporters today, while speaking about the first World Cup of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in this sport in Baku.

"As you know, we have sufficient experience of carrying out high-level international competitions. We are holding the World Cup in trampolining in Baku for the first time, because we began to popularize this kind of gymnastics just two years ago. For the first time such competitions took place in the framework of the first European Games at the National Gymnastics Arena in the past year," he reminded.

This tournament has a special status in the schedule of competitions of gymnasts on trampoline. "The calendar of international FIG competitions in this kind of gymnastics starts with it. I think that in terms of organization, we are ready. As for the national team, it is necessary to further raise the level, this is new for us, this year, we were not able to earn a license for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I hope that our athletes will perform great, both boys and girls, and we will continue to develop this sport in Baku, as well as other kinds of gymnastics," Altay Hasanov stressed.

Speaking about the National Gymnastics Arena, the Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation drew attention to the presence of everything necessary for the convenience of both the gymnasts and the audience. "The arena is very beautiful, unique and unusual. It has all the conditions for athletes, and coaches, and doctors – all those who work here enjoy it. Also, during competitions we organize entertainment for the audience, so that young people and parents with children, who come to us, would not be bored. It contributes to the promotion of sports. One of our most important goals, in addition to achieving sports results, is to attract as many children as possible to the sport, boys and girls. We can do it," he noted.

"Gymnastics has become very popular in Azerbaijan, and not only artistic, in which we are engaged for more than ten years, but also athletic. Now, the popularity of jumping on trampoline also increases, children are actively going to clubs. We will try to develop other types, that is, aerobics and acrobatics," Altay Hasanov informed, adding that the rising popularity of gymnastics in Azerbaijan can be judged by the abundance of spectators at the events.

"When we started with gymnastics, we had half-empty halls, but within a few years, attendance has increased. It's not only because of the campaigning, but also because of the desire to come and see the athletes. Rhythmic gymnastics is at a very high level, we have also gone up in artistic gymnastics, in trampolining, I hope we will also be successful – and, interestingly, tickets for this World Cup are selling well. Tomorrow, I think, the arena will not be empty. The audience will have the opportunity to see something new in gymnastics, so those who will come will not regret it," he expressed confidence.

Altay Hasanov explained the fact that the Federation was once again praised by FIG for the activity is due to the work carried out in recent years. "We had several important competitions in a row, while our gymnasts travel to almost all the major tournaments. That is, our athletes and gymnasts are actively involved in the world gymnastics life. In addition, we have increased the number of international-level functionaries, for example, we have a member of the International Gymnastics Federation, and the Secretary General of the Federation, Farid Gaibov, is also the Vice-President of the European Gymnastics Union. The following year, we will propose the candidacy of Farid Gaibov at the European Gymnastics Federation president elections. This is a worthy sports functionary, brought up in Azerbaijan, and respected in the gymnastics world. We will support him and hope that he will continue to move forward," he concluded.