Federal Gymnastics Festival in Lausanne still looking for volunteers

The Federal Gymnastics Festival takes place every six years, the next one from June 12 to 22 in Lausanne, the Olympic capital of Switzerland. So far, 1372 gymnastics clubs from all over Switzerland have registered with 65,000 gymnasts, as Gaël Lasserre, General Director of the Lausanne 2025 Organizing Committee, announced at a media conference at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne on Wednesday. This is a record number of participants for a national gymnastics festival in French-speaking Switzerland.

85 percent of the clubs come from German-speaking Switzerland. But French-speaking Switzerland is also well represented with 180 registered clubs, said Lasserre. And Ticino, the next host canton, is not lagging behind either, with 19 clubs taking part.

Only a quarter of volunteers found

Almost 5,000 volunteers are needed to guarantee the smooth running and success of the event. "We are currently at 20 to 25 percent of the required volunteers. That is our biggest concern at the moment. But we have confidence in the people of Lausanne and the region that we will achieve our goal," said Lasserre.

The work of these many people will equate to around 13,000 days and around 100,000 hours of voluntary work.

Gyms as accommodation

The accommodation poses a further organizational and logistical challenge. A 75,000 square meter campsite spread over three sites between Lausanne-Vidy and the University of Lausanne campus in Chavannes will accommodate around 20,000 gymnasts.

A further 8,000 or so gymnasts will spend the night in gymnasiums. The peak number of gymnasts present in Lausanne on one day is 30,000 people, explained the Director General.

99 percent come by train

With a festival that is spread across 27 venues in all corners of the Olympic capital, the organization of transport is also of crucial importance in order to be able to bring all participants to the various competition and festival venues.

According to a recent survey, almost 99 percent of gymnasts want to travel by train. SBB is planning 25 additional trains during the two-week event.

Access to the 140 competitions as well as the opening and closing ceremonies is free of charge. 22 disciplines with no less than 4000 judges will be represented.

Inclusion as a premiere

Lausanne 2025 will also integrate athletes with disabilities into competitions. For the first time in Switzerland, disciplines such as shot put and long jump will be accessible to all. The organizers emphasized that adapted rules would guarantee fair judging and a uniform ranking.