7th TeamGym Championship 2008 in Ghent/BEL

15 participating countries with 641 gymnasts divided into 51 teams (22 mixed teams, 19 women’s teams and 10 men’s) were the "players" of the 7th UEG TeamGym Championship which took place the 24th and 25th of October in Ghent / BEL. These competitions were held in the beautiful “Top Sport Hall” of Ghent, which had already hosted the WCh in artistic gymnastics in 2001 as well as the 5th Eurogym in 2006.

A very nice opening ceremony was held on the eve of the first qualifications. It was perfectly organised, just like the closing and award ceremonies.

It is clearly notable that the Scandinavian teams (still) haven’t lost anything of their supremacy. These teams have widened the gap to their followers, even if the latter haven’t shown themselves unworthy. The gap of points is mainly due to a lack of difficulty in their programs – but it is true that wanting to compete with the best, with only 1, 2 or 3 training sessions per week, is almost utopian. But each year an encouraging progress is notable, as mentioned by the President of the Technical Committee, Stefan Bengtsson, who welcomed the overall level of the competitions.

Mixed Teams:

First gold medal of these championships for Denmark with the victory of the club Ollerup and its total score of 27.000. Norway (Holmen) got silver and Sweden (Örebro) bronze. 6 teams of 22 have reached the finals, one only per country. None of the three clubs which won a medal at the last edition in Ostrava CZE was present. If the victory remains in Danish hands, as two years ago, the silver and bronze medals on the other hand reward the clubs of Holmen (NOR) and Örebro (SWE).

These three teams were already leading after the qualifications. Holmen and Örebro caught up a few tenths towards the Ollerup team. Despite an excellent finish at the mini trampoline (9,100), the Norwegians were not able to catch up the Danish gymnasts. The university team of Moscow was at the level of the winners at tumbling, but still needs to improve its performance in the other two disciplines to compete for the podium.

Final Women’s Teams:

With the victory of the club GF Ling, after the other Swedish Team Stockholm Top Gymnastics in 2006, the Champions Cup remains in Sweden. The Finns from the GERPLA team win the second silver medal in a row. One has to hear the "war cries" of the women's teams to see what importance they give to the victory over the adversaries but also to the satisfaction of having achieved a good performance. Because Scandinavian teams monopolise the places of honour, the fight between them is tough. Fifth two years ago, the young girls of the club of Ling imposed themselves very clearly (+ 1.250 points) by proving to be the best in each of the three disciplines of the competition.

Final Men’s Teams:

Double victory for Denmark in the men’s final. This thanks to the wild card given to Svendborg. Silkeborg wins its second title consecutively.

The victory of Silkeborg, holder of the title, was no surprise because it is the only team that managed scores of over 9.0 points in all three disciplines. It is the silver medal which caused quite a tough fight between the Swedish team Kämpinge and Svendborg. The latter had a bad start with 8.750 on floor but caught up at tumbling (9.100). Kämpinge on the other hand lost precious tenths at tumbling, although it was still possible to reach the final victory. At the end of the third and final exercise, the Swedes lost the second place by a hair, leaving the silver medal to the Svendborg team.