BLUME-Festival: The European Idea lives h e r e !!

Gymnastics under palm trees!

INTERNATIONALITY - from the beginning on!
Since the BLUME Festival was founded, since the beginning of the Sixties, the founder of this tradition "Canarian father of gymnastics" Jesus Telo Nuñez, died in 2008 put on worth worth internationality: For example, the some former top European gymnasts were here like the 5-time Olympian of Luxembourg, Josef Stoffel or the British Vice-European Champion on floor Nik Stuart as the first special festival guests. They all were at that time companions of 4-times the Spanish Gymnastics European Master Joaquin BLUME, after his tragic plane crash that Festival was named "BLUME Gran Canaria".

Foreign groups in the midst of hundreds of Spanish participants
*Sport hall of the city of Ingenio)

> www.gymfestivals.eu

And at least since the mid-eighties this internationality experienced another push, and so BLUME Gran Canaria is today one of the world's most famous international GYM festivals, which - by the founder of the Canary Initiative organizers - have teamed to a network - named:

► "European GYM Festivals" (EGF)... is a currently arising international network of organizers of national and international events of gymnastics disciplines, moving together logistically close for purposes of information and experience exchange.

Also Top Sportsmen and -women:
The current German Master Group of Rhythmic Gymnastics 2013,
' T a b e a ' from the city of Halle / Sa. (GER)

BLUME integrated - BLUME is "Member of GYMfamily "

Meanwhile visited guests from over 40 countries the festival! Most come here from Germany , Great Britain, Denmark and Scandinavia.
More and more it is frequented also from Eastern Europe, such as Russia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic ...
Also impressive is the philosophy of the BLUME-makers, of course senior to maintain the grassroots thought in all its facets , but more to include those who provide the power struts in the center of a part of their lifes: So always occur even top athletes, as this year the group " TABEA " as the current German champion of rhythmic group gymnastics. Here were the German Olympic champion Klaus Koeste as guest of honor here, Philipp Boy as a teenager, just before his successful career started as one of the world's best gymnasts , ....
So in this year's edition for the 5th Time an International TeamGym Cutook place in Las Palmas, and now for the first time an International Tournament in Rhythmic Gymnastics and also an Artistic Gymnastics competition, but - not as a contradiction to the "Gymnastics for All", , but in its more useful complement because they belong together , the "GYMfamily " when they temporarily is characterized by different priorities.

BLUME integriert - BLUME ist "Member of GYMfamily"
Inzwischen besuchten Gäste aus über 40 Ländern das Festival. Die meisten kommen dabei aus Deutschland, Großbritannien, aus Dänemark und Skandinavien.
Immer stärker wird es frequentiert auch aus Osteuropa, wie Russland, Litauen, aus Tschechien ...
Beeindruckend ist auch die Philosophie der Blume-Macher, natürlich erstrangig den Breitensportgedanken in all seinen Facetten zu pflegen, aber stärker auch jene einzubeziehen, die das Leistungsstreben in den Mittelpunkt eines Teils ihres Lebens stellen: So treten stets auch Spitzensportler auf, wie in diesem Jahr die Gruppe "TABEA" als aktueller Deutscher Meister der Gruppengymnastik. Hier war schon Olympiasieger Klaus Köste als Ehrengast dabei, Philipp Boy als Jugendlicher kurz vor seiner steilen Karriere zu einem der weltbesten Kunstturner, ....
So gab es beim diesjährigen Auflage bereits zum 5. Mal einen Internationalen TeamGym-Cup, und nun erstmalig ein Internationales Turnier der Rhythmischen Gymnastik und einen Kunstturn-Wettbewerb, aber - nicht als Widerspruch zum Breitensportcharkater, sondern in dessen sinnvoller Ergänzung, denn sie gehört zusammen, die "GYMfamily", wenn sie auch temporär durch unterschiedliche Schwerpunktsetzung geprägt ist.

This was clearly visible by the composition of the ladies group "Ariadna" from St. Petersburg, Russia.

These ladies between 35 - and 76 years have, in part, competitive sports careers behind them, some were participants of world championships of rhythmic gymnastics, or "Master of Sports" as Natalja Sobolewa-Oserowa in the seventies was three times city champion of Leningrad and took part as the 1978 World Cup in the crew of the Soviet Union.
Now it catches "her GYMfamily" again and provides opportunities for meaningful sports content in a now completely new phase of life. Rarely anywhere else that is so evident as in this BLUME Festival thoughts!

The pillars of the national BLUME idea
What formerly was rather unusual in the Canaries that adults or people operated in the last third of life sport or fitness, now the 50-year-FLOWER movement has caused a huge development. More and more recreational sports groups have formed. In the schools the contents of the BLUME Festival contents have long ingredients and the curriculum: One trains for a year to Choreograpghien imagines tailors Kostöüme, then to be able to be there as a highlight on one of the stages or event spaces at the big flower appearance.
This complexity and unity between a sports club and the school system all the islands (!) is an example for all of Europe ... of the special enthusiasm of the Spanish youth for the aesthetic gymnastics and gymnastic disciplines to mention:

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►► So INGENIO is an absolutely sport-loving city on the main island of the Canary Islands Gran Canaria:
Here live many people who work in the tourist industry and can be very interested in the sport, for exercise in every day life. For over 10 years Ingenio is a BLUME-Location. Particularly well known are the centers fo talents of Rhythmic Gymnastics as "Besay" and Arotza ", which are also integrated on the Spanish mainland in the competitions of talented young researchers. Nevertheless, Spain's group is the European Champion!

** GYMmedia was on the way this week in some of the places of BLUME events and GYMmedia photographert Achim SCHAEFER has brough some nice impressions of it ...:

►► TELDE - ist mit über 100.000 Einwohnern die nach Las Palmas zweitgrößte Inserstadt auf Gran Canaria. Über 10.000 Akteure allein dieser Stadt haben in 35 Jahren der BLUME-Festivalgeschichte an den Ereignissen teilgenommen. Seit 25 Jahren richtet man nun auch in der eigenen Stadt BLUME-Veranstaltungen aus. Besonders aktiv und qualitativ hochwertig ist der Club Alltau", der unter Leitung von Jaiza Castellanos nicht nur international in Erscheinung tritt, sondern in diesem Jahr den Blume-Preis für aktive Festivalteilnahme überreicht bekam:

►► LAS PALMAS - größte und Inselhauptstadt der Kanaren, ist natürlich immer ein Zentrum der BLUME-Aktivitäten, kommt doch von hier auch der größte und initierende Verein, Gimnasio Las Palmas". Auf dem Gelände des Parks "Santa Catalina", den die mehr als 35.000 jährlichen Kreuzfahrt-Touristen bestens kennen, liegt er doch in der Nähe der Kaimauern des Passagierhafens, herrscht in dieser Woche ebenfalls BLUME-Trubel und sportliches Treiben der besonderen Art, organisiert und unterstützt von der Stadtverwaltung der Inselregierung:

(C) gymmedia / a. schäfer