World Cup Gymnastics comes to Melbourne from 2017

Gymnastics Australia, backed by Visit Victoria and the Victorian Government, has secured the hosting rights to the Gymnastics World Cup for four years from 2017.

The event will bring world class gymnasts from 15 countries to compete at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena in February each year from 2017 through 2020 in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics. Competitors in 2017 will include Krisztian Berki from Hungary - the 2010, 2011 and 2014 World Champion and 2012 Gold Medallist on Pommel Horse and Sanne Wevers from the Netherlands who won Gold on Beam at the Rio Olympics.

Aly Raisman – Captain of the USA women’s Olympic Gymnastics team and Gold Medallist at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games – will be the official Ambassador for the Gymnastic World Cup in Melbourne. Raisman is passionate about helping grow the sport of Gymnastics internationally and appreciates the support and passion of Australian gymnastics fans have in particular.

Throughout the 2017-2020 Olympic cycle the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has introduced a new World Cup format, where Australia will host a stop on the Individual Apparatus World Cup circuit for the next four years for both Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. Gymnastics Australia was successful in bidding for one of four stops on the circuit along with Cottbus (Germany), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Doha (Qatar).

In 2017 the Australian leg of the FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup Series will be held at Hisense Arena from 22nd to 25th February.

Welcoming the hosting, Victoria’s acting Minister for Tourism and Major Events Philip Dalidakis stated “the Gymnastics World Cup is an exciting spectacle and we’re bringing the best of the best to Melbourne for all to enjoy.

“Events like this attract competitors, coaches, fans and families from all over the world, which is great news for Victoria’s major events and tourism sectors.”

With Melbourne Park being home to the first ever Olympic Games to be held in Australia in 1956, and the 2005 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and 2006 Commonwealth Games being held at neighbouring Rod Laver Arena, international athletes, coaches and officials are expected to feel  at home at Hisense Arena.

Gymnastics Australia Chief Executive Mark Rendell stated “we are delighted to have international, world-class gymnasts returning to compete on Australia shores.

“We’re already experiencing real excitement from within the gymnastics community about this event. Making ticket prices affordable and the event accessible for everyone has been a priority for us. There’s been a great reaction already since tickets went on sale last Thursday. With competitively priced tickets, family friendly session times and world class gymnasts on display, we’re confident of a strong turnout to all sessions at next year’s World Cup.”

The events to be hosted by Australia in 2017 and 2018 will serve as a part of the 2016-2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics Individual Apparatus World Cup Series, for which the first event of the series was held in Cottbus in November.

Across the eight events in the 2016-2018 FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup series (one held per year in each host city), gymnasts will be attributed points based on their rankings on each apparatus at the different World Cup stops. The points from each gymnast’s best three finishes will be totalled to determine the World Cup series winner on that apparatus.

A prize purse of 5,000 Swiss francs will be awarded to each winner at the end of the series.

The events hosted in 2019 and 2020 will serve as qualifying competitions for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and will be sure to draw an even greater proportion of world-class athletes to compete on Australian shores.

For more information about World Cup Gymnastics coming to Melbourne in 2017 - including session times, what each session will entail and ticketing information - go to www.gymnasticsworldcup.com.au

19th December 2016 - GYMNASTICS AUSTRALIA NAMES TOP MEDIA EXECUTIVE AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT 

23rd October 2016 - MOVE TO ESTABLISH OCEANIA GYMNASTICS UNION

9th June 2016 - GYMNASTICS AUSTRALIA AND SINGAPORE GYMNASTICS LOOK TO BUILD LEADERSHIP CAPACITIES FOR WOMEN IN SPORT

3rd December 2015 - HISENSE ARENA TO STAGE SHOWPIECE NETBALL TOURNAMENT UNDER THREE-YEAR CONTRACT

19th November 2015 - RESEARCHERS CALL FOR GYMNASTICS TO BE INCLUDED IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM

23rd January 2015 - GYMNASTICS AUSTRALIA JOINS NATIONAL SPORT INCLUSION ALLIANCE