A total of 131 gymnasts from across 22 countries competed at the home of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation - a 6,800-capacity Arena that is located within walking distance of the Baku 2015 Athletes' Village and was opened by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the nation's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva in April last year.

Addressing the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Executive Committee at a meeting in Lausanne prior to the test event, Guelzec described the sport of gymnastics as "too complicated, too long and too expensive to produce for television" and insisted that "gymnastics must rapidly undertake fundamental changes to survive".

Harsh words indeed from the former Olympic gymnast, who is in the frame to replace Italy's Bruno Grandi as President of the FIG when the world governing body takes its Congress to Tokyo in October 2016. The 67-year-old is the first French candidate to be put forward for the role since World War Two.

I had the opportunity to pick the brain of Georges Guelzec, European Union of Gymnastics President, at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku ©Philippe Silacci



Grandi confirmed he would not be seeking a sixth mandate as President in October, marking the end of what will be a 20-year reign as head of the sport. The 80-year-old has overseen two of the biggest recent changes in gymnastics - abandoning the 10.0 scale as part of an overhaul of the scoring system, and raising the minimum age for the Olympics and World Championships to 16.

Many of the changes introduced under Grandi have proved controversial but the sport has continued to prosper. Following London 2012, it was promoted to the top tier of Olympic sports, alongside aquatics and athletics - a move which should mean a significant funding boost for the FIG after Rio 2016.

Guelzec, a long-time vice-president of the French Gymnastics Federation, could well be the main beneficiary of this as he looks to bring the sport back in line with the times, and the fact that each of the eight Presidents of the FIG have been European since its inception in 1881, would certainly appear to stand him in good stead.

If elected he would become the first French President of the world governing body since Charles Cazalet performed the role between 1924 and 1933, and continue a resurgence of French leaders in sport following the appointment of Jean-Christophe Rolland as President of World Rowing in 2013.

Speaking in January, Guelzec, who plans to outline his vision during next month's European Artistic Championships in Montpellier, said: "I want to bring change, to provoke and to be more realistic in order to build the gymnastics of tomorrow and the future.

"Gymnastics should not stay traditional. I wish, notably, to modify the statutes, renovate the competitive system and make gymnastics more visible to sponsors and the media."

The first key step in this process came at the three-day Baku 2015 test event, and having been there to witness first-hand the initial trial of the innovative competition format, Guelzec is confident that its use at the European Games from June 14 to 19 will have the desired effect.

"This event marks an important milestone in what will be an exciting and thrilling gymnastics competition at the first ever European Games," he said.

"I am sure that with the support of the UEG and the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, we will deliver a competition which will delight and entertain both athletes and spectators in Baku and TV spectators around the world."

Georges Guelzec (left), European Union of Gymnastics President, with Pierce O'Callaghan (right), Baku 2015 director of sport, at the gymnastics test event ©Baku 2015













Among the headline makers at the test event were Oleg Stepko and Kristina Pravdina, who won gold medals for the hosts in the men's and women's artistic all-around finals respectively, while Russia tasted success in the rhythmic individual all-around competition, through 2014 world champion Yana Kudryavtseva, and led from their first performance to take the group all-around title.

"The Baku Prepares Open Joint Championship was an excellent event that was perfect preparation for this summer's inaugural European Games," said Pierce O'Callaghan, Baku 2015's director of sport.

"We had six disciplines and more than 130 athletes competing in a very short period of time, and both the organisation and their performance was excellent.

"The test event was a huge success and it encourages us to keep on working hard to be ready to host the Games."

Although any concerns could be unfounded given the low-key nature of the competition, the only slightly negative aspect of the gymnastics test event was the number of empty seats that could be seen around the Arena. If gymnastics is to use the Games as a springboard for a change in direction, surely it's essential that the crowds turn out in their masses to experience it.

Gavin McAlpine, director of operational, capability and readiness for the Games, admits the Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) has a "big job on its hands" to ensure that poor attendances aren't replicated during Games time.

The former head of readiness, testing and exercising, and Games operations at London 2012, is anticipating a tougher challenge on that front than he experienced in the English capital for the most recent Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We need to be honest, in London there was probably a greater understanding among the population of what to expect, so selling tickets in London was probably much easier than it will be here," he said.

"It's the inaugural edition of the European Games and people are still learning about what this actually means."

The Russian rhythmic team came to the fore on the final day of action at the Open Joint Azerbaijan Championship ©Baku 2015






Back in November, the UEG held a seminar entitled "gymnastics for tomorrow" in London at which members showed their support for using the Baku 2015 European Games to experiment with the revised presentation of the sport. The next UEG Congress is set to be hosted by the Slovakian capital of Bratislava from November 20 to 22, where Guelzec says further discussions will be held to establish how best to continue with the strategy.

The ultimate goal would undoubtedly be to see the full array of gymnastics disciplines feature at the Olympics and with Paris, the capital of Guelzec's homeland, looking ever more likely to lodge a bid for the 2024 edition, the prospect of him leading gymnastics into a Games on home soil is by no means beyond the realms of possibility.

Although it may come too early to ensure the place of aerobics and acrobatics on the sports programme, by displaying the two non-Olympic disciplines alongside their Olympic counterparts, it is hoped it will boost the chances of either or both of them one day finding their way onto the Olympic roster.

"It's important to protect all our six disciplines and to see how it could be possible [to have all the disciplines at the Olympic Games]," Guelzec told insidethegames.

"This is why this test event and the first European Games is very important to us.

"We can review whether it's possible to make changes and that's why we need feedback from the media, coaches and gymnasts so we can carry out different kinds of analysis after the European Games."

Azerbaijan's Marina Durunda was one of the star performers at the Baku 2015 gymnastics test event ©Baku 2015



Guelzec has given his backing to Paris' bid claiming as much as 80 per cent of the infrastructure is already in place and that "it will not be so expensive" to host the 2024 Games.

"I think this is one of the most important points of the candidature," he said. 

"There is also the very important point that there are other big cities which are not so far away from Paris, like Lyon."

Confirmation of the French capital's candidature could come by the end of this month, following the delivery of a key feasibility study to political leaders, including the city's Mayor Anne Hidalgo, in February.

On receiving the report from Bernard Lapasset, President of the French International Sport Committee, Hidalgo said she would "submit the candidature decisions to the councils of Paris' 20 arrondissements at the end of March and to the Council of Paris in April".

Boston and Rome are already on the starting-line for the race, with Hamburg or Berlin set to follow, and although Guelzec acknowledges that the competition is strong, he believes Paris has a lot in its favour.

"Of course, I know that the other candidates also have good points," he said. 

"When we're talking about the Olympic Games, we're always talking about money and about how expensive it is, but it's also one way to improve the economic situation [of a host nation].

"We have to find all these positive aspects."

Georgia's Tengizi Koshkadze and Giorgi Putkaradze compete in the men's synchronised competition ©Baku 2015



French newspaper Le Monde, which is said to have secured access to the feasibility study, revealed that the budget stands at €6 billion (£4.5 billion/$7 billion), including organisation and infrastructure costs.

Although this is an extremely modest amount in comparison to the reported €12.2 billion (£8.8 billion/$13.2 billion) spent on London 2012, it still reflects a sizeable outlay for staging the Games, as Guelzec points out.

"Of course, it's a lot of money," Guelzec added.

"But it's not only during the Olympic Games that its impact is felt because you can then use what you invest for the Olympic Games afterwards.

"It's a question of whether the country is clever enough to use them [the investments] in the right way after the Games."

Guelzec said it's too early to say whether he would still be at the helm come 2024 if he was to be elected, and is keen to focus on the here and now.

By the time the Games come round he will be approaching his 77th birthday, and he is primarily focused on increasing his standing within the sport to build the foundations for future success.

Home gymnast Oleg Piunov topped the podium in the men's trampoline event ©Baku 2015






"First you have to be elected and it's not easy," he said.

"And one of the most important things, if you are elected, is to reorganise the whole gymnastics so as to create a bridge between the gymnastics of what we have today and the gymnastics of the future.

"Then of course there is a lot of work to do before you can really make big changes, but if I am successful, it's also a question of how people are thinking about the sport."

In search of the perfect quote to sign off this piece, I asked Guelzec whether it would be his ultimate dream to be at the forefront of gymnastics in the build-up to an Olympic and Paralympic Games in his home country. His response was short but very telling at the same time.

"Of course, you already know the answer," he said laughing.

In all fairness, he was right.

Daniel Etchells is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.