ISF Gymnasiade 2022
Dates: March 14-21, 2022
Location: Normandy, France
ISF Home Page | Gymnasiade | Watch Live

ORLANDO, Fla. (May, 2022) – The Amateur Athletic Union is heading to Normandy, France to represent the United States in the International School Sport Federation Gymnasiade 2022. From May 14 to May 21, athletes will get a chance to perform on a global stage, learn new cultures, represent their schools, and make friends from around the world.
 
Over 3,500 participants from 67 countries are preparing to arrive in Normandy for the 19^th ISF Gymnasiade. The ISF will welcome school students from around the world to compete in 20 different sports and engage in a variety of cultural and educational activities. The AAU/USA delegation will see more than 65 members traveling across the world for this one of a kind opportunity.
 
AAU is sending athletes to compete in seven (7) of the sports being played: archery, beach volleyball, dance, fencing, swimming, table tennis, and wrestling. Athletes will be joined by AAU Board of Director Members. Gino Grajeda serves as the AAU/ISF Liaison, President of the ISF Beach Volleyball Technical Commission and the Commissioner of AAU Beach Volleyball. Lewis Fellinger, AAU Aquatics National Chair, serves as a member of the ISF Swimming Technical Commission and the Technical Coordinator for Diving. AAU President and CEO, Jennings “Rusty” Buchanan will also be in attendance, not only to represent the AAU, but also to cheer on our athletes.
 
The ISF Gymnasiade is the largest international multi-sport and educational event for school students aged 16-18 years old. The festivities will begin on May 15 with the Opening Ceremonies. Competition will begin on May 16 and go until the Closing Ceremony on May 21.
 
In between competition days, student-athletes will also have a chance to learn and explore new cultures. This is the heart of the Gymnasiade, the Fun and Skill Zone. The Fun and Skill Zone concept aims to provide the participants and the local schools an open area where a variety of educational, physical, and cultural activities are proposed on a daily basis. More than 20 international and national organizations will gather aiming to raise awareness on the Olympic values, to discover traditional or innovative sports, and to discover the cultures of the different participating countries.
 
All members will also get the opportunity to explore more during Cultural Day and Nation Night. On May 18-21, each athlete will be able to visit the sites of the Allied landings from World War II as well as some of the different cultural sites around Normandy, such as Le Mont Saint Michel. On the night of May 18, each delegation represented at the ISF Gymnasiade will have a booth to present themselves and their culture. This gives everyone the chance to discover and learn about new cultures from around the world.
 
So what is the ISF? The International School Sport Federation was founded in 1972 and is an international non-profit sport organization. The ISF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to organize world school championships for ages 6 to 18 years old. The organization's mission is to promote among young people mutual understanding, volunteerism, empowerment, peace, non-discrimination, healthy lifestyles, social inclusion, and gender equality. , the ISF currently consists of 132 members from over the five continents organizing over 10 events per year and has more than 30 different sports included in its competition program.
 
AAU first began participating with ISF in 2017 with the ISF World Schools Beach Volleyball Championships in Tahiti, where the girls representing AAU took home the gold. Since the first participation, AAU has competed in past Gymnasiade games in Morocco as well as in the inaugural ISF U15 World School Games in Belgrade last year.
 
For more information on the ISF Gymnasiade 2022 in Normandy, visit events.isfsports.org. To learn more about the International School Sport Federation, visit isfsports.org. And for dates of competition for each sport, click here.

To watch the action live, click here.
 
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About AAU:
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports event organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by approximately 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts.