JAGA gets more votes, more respect at FIG congress
Published:Tuesday | November 9, 2021 | 12:07 AM
NICOLE GRANT-BROWN, president of the Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association (JAGA), says she is already seeing the benefits of having increased votes at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) international congress in Turkey on the weekend.
Jamaica went to their first international congress in 2017 with only one vote. However, their increased presence in international competitions and the promise displayed by local talent has earned them another vote.
The quadrennial congress is where the voting of the president, executive members and members of the various disciplines and committees takes place.
Grant-Brown said their increased presence with another vote is already giving them a lot more attention, friends and opportunities.
“Last congress, we only had one vote. So we decided to get more votes and, to do that, you have to be involved in the activities of the FIG and PAGU (Pan American Gymnastics Union).
“So we have gotten involved in a lot more disciplines and the meet in El Salvador has given us a lot more ratings because they realise Jamaica has local gymnasts with potential to grow,” she pointed out.
“So we have gotten more attention. Everybody wants to be our friend and, with that, we have gotten some invitation which will help to develop the sport in Jamaica,” she said.
The Jamaicans have been invited to a tournament in Egypt and a camp in Azerbaijan.
For the trip to Egypt, the organisers will take care of airfare for four of Jamaica’s gymnasts.
While, for the Azerbaijan camp, the JAGA only needs to find airfare.
“This is a great development because Azerbaijan is where everybody goes for camps. They have high-performance camps for everyone in that region and we are very excited they have invited us, giving us a space that could have been for another Asian country,” Grant-Brown said.
“This will propel our gymnastics programme forward, as they may invite us again after a few months, to check our progress. So we are really working (on the airfare) towards that,” she commented.
She added that, by the next conference in 2025, the association hopes to have the maximum three votes.
“Having more votes means we will have more say and will get even more attention, because everybody will want us to vote for them,” the JAGA president noted. “The highest number of votes is three but you have to do more Olympics, World Championships and PAGU events.
“Not only artistic gymnastics, but also trampoline gymnastics, gymnastics for all, rhythmic gymnastics and other disciplines. So we are going to be working at getting involved in other disciplines,” she stated.
At the congress on Saturday, president Morinari Watanabe, of Japan, was re-elected to a new three-year term. He saw off the challenge of Farid Gayibov of Azerbaijan, by 81 to 47 votes.