Baku to host 2019 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
By Gulgiz Dadashova
Hosting the 37th edition of the 2019 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships has been awarded to Azerbaijan and the tournament will take place in the country's capital, Baku.
The Council of the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) made a relevant decision at a meeting held in Liverpool on May 10.
Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation (AGF) said that the Baku-2019 presentation was made by AGF Secretary General Farid Gaibov, who participated in the meeting of the FIG Council.
Gaibov informed the participants about the sports achievements of Azerbaijan in recent years and recalled that Baku held the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in 2005.
"That was the first world championship in the Olympic sports discipline in our country, which was held at a high organizational level. Later, the capital organized European championships twice -- in 2007 and 2009, and Baku will open the doors of the new National Gymnastics Arena for another European championship next year," he said.
The AGF secretary general also thanked the representatives of FIG who have recently paid a familiarization visit to Baku.
The world championship will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The gymnastics federation also said that the international relations manager of the national federation, Mehman Aliyev, was elected as a member of the FIG Disciplinary Commission. The majority of the Council delegates voted for his candidacy. The representatives from Switzerland, Belgium, Tunisia, Serbia and Syria became his colleagues for the next four years.
Aliyev will be responsible for examining violations of rules made by athletes during the competitions and training sessions, imposing sanctions for the use of performance-enhancing drugs and working to reduce various shortfalls.
Tournament venue
Azerbaijan has already successfully hosted a number of globally important political, economic, cultural, sporting and other events. The sports infrastructure available and under construction in Azerbaijan enables the country to conduct various competitions at a high level.
The National Gymnastics Arena (NGA) in Baku, which is now under construction, is specifically designed to be able to adapt the Main Arena to host a variety of functions or sporting events if required.
The Arena is primarily designed to host rhythmic and artistic gymnastics competitions. It will be able to host gymnasts' training for international tournaments. The facilities will include training halls, auditoriums, cafeterias, a gymnasium, as well as offices.
The National Gymnastics Arena will be a circa 6,000 seater facility close to the Keroglu subway station on the Heydar Aliyev Highway, which is the main route in and out of the city from the airport.
The arena facilities will include two main concourse levels with welfare facilities and food and beverage outlets; above them on the upper level of the arena will be the box level, which will host VIPs.
There will also be a large area for a two-storey restaurant with viewing capacity onto the arena floor.
When the NGA hosts international competitions there will be all the requirements for international media and sponsors expected of today's world class sporting venues -- from interview rooms and media control center and sponsor rooms to press rooms.
Within the 24,000 sq. m. of surrounding landscape that will be designed to complement the arena an underground car park capable of parking at least 300 vehicles will be available.
Earlier in January, the project's construction director Phil Benson said that most of work on the gymnastics arena in Baku had been done, with the completion of concrete frame reinforcement.
"The progress has been good with roof trusses and now we have to lift the third major roof truss section," Benson said.
According to him, a combination of local and regional materials is used in construction to achieve result as quickly as possible.