City News

Birmingham, the UK’s number one city for sports events, has been selected to host the World Championships in Trampoline, Tumbling and Double-Mini Trampoline in 2011.

An official bid to stage the event in Birmingham was made by British Gymnastics at the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) council meeting in Orlando, Florida on Sunday 20 May.

The successful bid, which was put together by British Gymnastics and Birmingham City Council’s Task Force for 2012, means that this World Championships in the Olympic sport of trampoline, will be staged in Birmingham less than 12 months before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The event will be held over three days at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena and around 650 athletes and officials from 40 countries will compete. This will include not only the world’s best gymnasts but also youngsters from across the globe as the Championships includes age group competitions as well as senior events.

Councillor Ray Hassall, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture for Birmingham City Council said: “We are delighted to win the bid to host this spectacular championships and I know that we will stage the best ever event. With this being a World Championships in an Olympic sport we can expect it’s profile to be huge meaning that pictures of the event and the city we be shown across the globe, further profiling Birmingham as a World Class Sporting City and a city capable of staging fantastic international sporting championships.”

British Gymnastics and Birmingham City Council have formed a successful partnership in recent years by jointly staging the 12th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final in December 2004, the UEG Congress in 2005 and the 8th Trampoline and Tumbling World Cup Final in November 2006.

It is the staging of this third event just a few months ago which really strengthened the World Championship bid as Alan Sommerville, Chief Executive for British Gymnastics explains: “We have built a fantastic working relationship with Birmingham City Council in recent years and it is this relationship and the expertise that both organisations have developed through jointly staging events such as the Trampoline and Tumbling World Cup Final which made this such a strong bid. The FIG has been very impressed with the events we have recently staged on their behalf.”

He added:” This event will be staged less than year before 2012 which will not only provide an excellent showcase for the sport of trampoline but also provide our British team with a fantastic opportunity to experience the excitement and pressure associated with competing in a major event on home soil.”

The bid has been strongly supported by UK Sport, who will be one of the major funding partners for the Championships, through their National Lottery funded World Class Events Programme.