For the sixth time, Unicamp participated in the World Gymnaestrada, whose 16th edition took place from July 7th to 13th in the city of Dornbirn, Austria. The festival, organized by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) since 1953, occurs every four years and is considered one of the most important sporting events in the world. In 2019, World Gymnaestrada brought together around 18 thousand gymnasts, from 66 countries. The University was represented by the Unicamp Gymnastics Group (GGU), which took 26 members, in addition to 12 other participants from CGU Ânima, which brings together mostly women who are former GGU members.
The main hallmark of the festival is that it is not competitive in nature, as explained by Marco Antonio Coelho Bortoleto, professor at the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF) at Unicamp and general director of GGU. The main objective is to promote integration through sport. “The event welcomes gymnasts of all age groups, without distinction of gender, technical level or physical condition. During the presentations, the different groups demonstrate how their country or region practices gymnastics. It’s a true diversity class”, explains the teacher.
According to Bortoleto, Unicamp had an important participation in the 16th World Gymnaestrada. He himself helped organize the event, as he is linked to the Gymnastics Committee for All (GPT), linked to the FIG. Furthermore, the flag bearer of the Brazilian delegation, made up of 600 members, was professor Elizabeth Paoliello, who is also a professor at FEF. The head of the national delegation was professor Michele Carbinatto, who teaches at USP, but graduated from FEF and joined the GGU. “Not to mention several other Brazilian groups that were there and were led by former FEF-Unicamp students, generally former members of the GGU”, he adds.
One of the highlights of Unicamp's presence at the festival was the workshop presented on July 13, a Saturday, by three students from GGU: Fernanda Menegaldo, Ellen Maria, Camila Milani and Gabriel Coimbra. “More than 500 people followed the activity. It was a great success”, celebrates Bortoleto. According to him, events like the World Gymnaestrada are fundamental because they take the focus away from competitiveness and transfer it to the connection between people.
Bortoleto observes that in many countries, including Brazil, interest is focused on the results of sports practice, materialized in a medal or trophy or, even, in some ranking. “In non-competitive sports, the gains are of a different nature. At events like World Gymnaestrada, collective and massive coexistence generates friendships, promotes exchanges and encourages the practice of diversity. An atmosphere is created in which people can see beauty in all presentations, even those without so many spectacular resources. And all of this in an atmosphere of harmony and civility”, he analyzes.
As if these consequences were not already important, the FEF professor points out one more. “Events of this nature are also a huge tourist event, during which thousands of people visit the host city and nearby locations. A good example was the principality of Liechtenstein, which is just a few kilometers from Dornbirn and which acted as a festival partner. The local government allowed the visit of tourists and presentations by various gymnastics groups. GGU participated in this initiative by presenting two choreographies on July 6th, before the start of the World Gymnaestrada”, he reports.
