June 30, 2010
Children`s International Calisthenics Tournament Kichkintoy (Baby), now in its third year, brought together in Tashkent over 160 young gymnasts from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The project organized by the Fund Forum and its Forum Junior Sport Complex jointly with the Ministry of Culture and Sports Affairs of Uzbekistan, Children`s Sports Development Fund and Tashkent City Mayor`s Office, provides support for the youngest gymnasts and enables them to perform for large audiences. The tournament concluded with Gulnara Karimova, the author of the project, awarding prizes and presents to all the participants of the sporting festival.
The tournament which kicked off with a video greeting by the president of the Russian Federation of Calisthenics, Irina Vinner, featured gymnasts from Tashkent, Tashkent region, Bukhara, Jizzak, Nukus, Samarkand and Ferghana as well as guest participants from Kazakhstan. A total of 47 numbers were demonstrated.
The first tournament, held in June 2008, featured 170 athletes from Uzbekistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. In 2009, over 150 children participated in the tournament and were judged by Oksana Chusovitina, a prominent gymnast and multiple world and Olympic champion.
This year the tournament was held in the format of a festival and all the participants were awarded prizes. Special prizes went to 14 schools that provided young participants. The tournament is held in an open form and participants are free to choose the form of their performance. There are practically no restrictions on the type of sports inventory used, music and costumes worn.
It is noteworthy that calisthenics in Uzbekistan has been gaining popularity in recent years. Presently, over 10,000 girls across the country are being trained in calisthenics. Calisthenics centres have been operating in Tashkent and other regions of the country. Among them are Forum Junior Sport Complex under the Fund Forum, where young athletes are trained in calisthenics, woo-shoo and other sports free of charge by leading trainers of the county.
Related links
BABY International Children’s Tournament