The summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) was held in Baku in late July 2019. Artistic gymnastics was part of the programme, giving junior men and women a taste of a multi-sport environment modelled on the Olympic Games.
What EYOF is
EYOF is organised by the European Olympic Committees for athletes in their mid-teens. There are summer and winter editions, each held every two years. For gymnasts, the festival is often the first time they live in an athletes' village, share a dining hall with athletes from other sports and compete in a ceremony-framed event.
The gymnastics programme
Junior gymnastics at EYOF typically includes a team competition, an all-around final and apparatus finals for both men and women. Squads are small, which makes selection competitive within each federation.
Why it matters for the future
- Many EYOF medallists go on to represent their country at senior European and World Championships. - The festival teaches competition routines: accreditation, transport, call rooms and broadcast timings. - It gives smaller federations a realistic medal opportunity at youth level.
Looking back at the 2019 class
Gymnasts who competed in Baku in 2019 turned senior in the early 2020s, a period disrupted by pandemic cancellations. Their path illustrates how hard that time was for young athletes: just as they were ready to move up, the international calendar thinned out. Several of them nonetheless became members of national teams for the Paris 2024 cycle.
Related
For parents of young gymnasts, our guide to choosing a gymnastics club explains how competitive pathways usually work.
