International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) President Bruno Grandi moves towards a re-election in 2012
The International Gymnastics magazine recently quoted a letter written by the President of the International Gymnastics Federation, Bruno Grandi, in which he stated why he was inclined towards his re-election.
The election for the next term of office will be held in October 2012 at the International Gymnastics Federation’s General Assembly.
About 130 delegates from national affiliated federations will be present at the General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico, from October 25 through to October 27, to vote.
If Grandi is re-elected, it will be his fifth term as the President of the International Gymnastics Federation.
It will also match predecessor, Yuri Titov’s term in office that lasted twenty years until 1996 when Grandi ascended to presidency. By the time elections come around, Grandi will have completed 16 years of presidency anyway.
According Grandi, to opt for re-election is the most logical conclusion that he has come to after a careful and a prolonged deliberation.
He also expressed that the fifth term will be his last, and one that he is going for only because he wants to see everything he started through to an effective end.
“There are several issues that need my attention, and I am committed to finishing what I started. I am both pugnacious and consistent,” he wrote.
Grandi outlined the most important issues that he needs to tackle currently.
Firstly, there is the issue of the judges’ credibility. Following 2013, a revision in the eligibility criteria will require all technical authorities to possess category I or II judge along with a level III coach brevet.
His second goal, which has already been achieved to an extent, is to extend gymnastics to more and more countries.
It is evident from the wider, more diverse nation participation and success that Grandi has been able to make the sport more universal than it was ever before.
Nations such as France, Brazil, Australia and Great Britain have emerged as medal winners in individual rounds, presumably as a result of the 6-3-3 system that Grandi introduced.
But most important to him is the revision of the Codes of Points that ultimately leads to luring in sponsors as well as viewership.
“But the most ambitious project by far is that of competition reform within the Marketing project. Our product needs to be streamlined; and to keep our competitions attractive for sponsors and the public, it has been found imperative to review our Codes
of Points,” Grandi wrote.
From the 2004 Olympic controversies to the debate that ensued following the rule of open-ended scoring (as opposed to the 10 points maximum), Grandi’s tenure so far has probably been the most fraught with controversies than anyone else’s.
At seventy-seven years of age, the former junior gymnast hopes to give the sport every bit of his learning. He wants to add another term to his tenure so as to be able to have the satisfaction of having completed what he set out to do.
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