FIG Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup
36th “Turnier der Meister”
Cottbus (GER), March 22-25, 2012
LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, March 20, 2012: Organisers of the Turnier der Meister look forward to the 36th edition of this traditional tournament in Cottbus (GER), whose launch dates back to the year 1973. Held for the second time under the FIG Challenge Cup label, the event that lines up a whopping 170 gymnasts from 35 different nations at the Lausitz Arena will take place over four days this year, from March 22 – 25.
An impressive list of participants for this CIII tournament includes numerous Olympic, World and Continental champions and spectators can expect fierce competitions on every apparatus.
On Parallel Bars, multiple World and European Champion Mitja Petkovšek (SLO) will meet 2011 European Champion Marcel Nguyen, while Men’s Floor will see title holder Eleftherios Kosmidis (GRE) compete against Chile’s Enrique Tomas Gonzales Sepulveda and former European Champion Matthias Fahrig (GER). Gonzales and Fahrig together with Tomy Tuuha (FIN) count among the main contenders on Vault. On Rings, Dutchman van Gelder will encounter Olympic Champion Chen Yibing (CHN), Oleksandre Vorobiov (UKR), who is celebrating his international come back in Cottbus, and 2011 World Silver medallist Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti. A spectacular show with Olympic Champion Qin Xiao (CHN) is expected on Pommel Horse. Favourite on Horizontal Bar is reining European Champion Epke Zonderland (NED), who will be challenged by local star and World All-around Silver medallist Philipp Boy, former World Champion Vlasios Maras (GRE) and John Orozco (USA). Also keep an eye on Great Britain’s Daniel Keatings and Youth Olympic Games Champion Sam Oldham.
In Women’s, Brazil’s Diane dos Santos, who outclassed the field on Floor in 2004, returns to Cottbus and she will be in the company of her experienced compatriots Bruna Leal and Daniele Hypolito. China sends Cheng Fei, multiple World Champion on Vault and Floor, He Kexin, the Uneven Bars Olympic Champion, 18 year old Wu Liufang and 16 year old Zeng Siqi. Romania lines up Diana Maria Chelaru, Gabriela Dragoi and Raluca Oana Haidu and fans will also be excited to see Vasiliki Millousi (GRE), Adela Sajn (SLO) Valeriia Maksiuta (ISR), Celine Van Gerner (NED) and Marta Pihan-Kulesza (POL). Germany counts on Elisabeth Seitz, Kim Bui and Pia Tolle.
Turnier der Meister
The Turnier der Meister was first held in 1973 in Schwerin, followed by Berlin in 1978. Since 1979, the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) has been hosting the tournament annually in Cottbus together with the gymnastics club SC Cottbus Turnen e.V.
Under the direction of Mirko Wohlfahrt, who took over organisation of the competition from Sylvio Kroll (1988 Olympic Silver medallist on Vault, 1987 World Champion on Vault and 1985 World Champion on Parallel Bars) in 2008, and supplied with apparatus by long-time FIG partner Spieth Gymnastic, the Turnier der Meister will welcome up to 2,000 fans at the Lausitz Arena eager to see the world’s Artistic Gymnastics elite at this FIG Challenge Cup.
Event website
Turnier der Meister Facebook page
Schedule
Check out the complete roster for the 36th Turnier der Meister!
The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) offers live commentary (in German) on each competition day at www.dtb-liveticker.de as well as daily video highlights on the days of the Finals at www.dtb-online.de.
About 2012 FIG Individual Apparatus Artistic Gymnastics World Cup and Challenge Cup Series
The 2012 FIG Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics series for Individual Apparatus includes one World Cup (category A) and six Challenge Cup (category B) competitions.
Zibo City (CHN) on April 7 - 8 will host the 2012 Individual Apparatus World Cups, while 2012 Challenge Cups will take place on March 22 – 25 in Cottbus (GER), March 28 – 30 in Doha (QAT), April 20 – 22 in Maribor (SLO), April 27 – 29 in Osijek (CRO), June 9 – 10 in Ghent and November 23 – 24 in Ostrava (CZE).
Separate World Ranking lists will be established for CIII, six for men and four for women, with the Individual Apparatus rankings including combined lists for World Cups and Challenge Cups.
Invitation to the Individual Apparatus World Cup is based on the CIII rankings from the 2011 World Championships, the 2011 World Cup Ranking List for Individual Apparatus and the 2011 Challenge Cup Ranking List, and is limited to twelve gymnasts with a maximum of two entries per country on each apparatus. Moreover, the organising member federation can grant wild cards to a maximum of one man and one woman on one apparatus. The competitions include Qualifications and Finals with the best four gymnasts per apparatus proceeding to the final round. An additional one wild card per Men’s and Women’s competition is allowed in the event that the host federation fails to qualify for the Finals.
The Challenge Cup series is an open category featuring qualifying and final rounds, with participation limited to two gymnasts per country and apparatus. The best eight gymnasts per apparatus advance to the Final. An extra one wild card per Men’s and Women’s competition is allowed in the event that the host federation fails to qualify for the Finals.
The winners of the 2012 Individual Apparatus World Cup and Challenge Cup Series are those gymnasts with the highest number of points for each apparatus and the best four results counting after the last event in Ostrava, where special award ceremonies will be held and the winners will receive a cup.
