On July 25, the 9th World Games will kick off in Cali, Colombia. Governed by the International World Games Association (IWGA) and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Games, which provide an atmosphere similar to the Olympic Games for non-Olympic sports and disciplines, are held every four years in the year following the Olympic Games. The top athletes from 38 sports will compete during the 11 days in Cali and two other municipalities in the Cauca Valley in western Colombia.
Gymnastics, one of the major sports featured at the World Games, has four disciplines (including rhythmic, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic) that represent a total of 22 medal events. The gymnastics events will be held at the El Pueblo Coliseum, which opened in 1971 for the Pan American Games and is located in the southwest part of Cali.
Tumbling and individual and synchronized trampoline have been included in the World Games since the event debuted in 1981 in Santa Clara, Calif. Double mini-trampoline was added to the World Games in 2001. Individual trampoline joined the Olympic Games program in 2000, which resulted in its removal from the World Games.
A total of 88 male and female competitors will participate in trampoline and tumbling in Cali: 48 athletes, synchronized trampoline; 20, double-mini; and 20, tumbling. The preliminary rounds qualify the top eight ranked gymnasts or pairs with a maximum of one per federation and discipline for the finals. The competing athletes qualified at the 2011 World Championships in Birmingham, Great Britain.
Acrobatic gymnastics, the fourth gymnastics discipline in the World Games, first appeared at the 1993 World Games in The Hague, Netherlands. The field’s 78 acrobats represent six pairs or groups each in women’s, mixed and men’s pairs and women’s and men’s groups. The women’s group has three gymnasts, and the men’s group has four gymnasts. The top four pairs/groups in the qualification round (which features one dynamic and one balance exercise) advance to the finals (one combined exercise). Performances at the 2012 World Championships in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., served as the qualification for the World Games.
Acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline will be held together during a three-day period: July 28, podium training; July 29 Aca a