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1907 FIG Congress

1907: The Sixth FIG Congress Considers Abandoning World Championships

Which gymnastics federations should be allowed to join the Bureau of European Gymnastics Associations (now the FIG)?

How are the International Tournaments different from the Olympic Games? Should there even be an International Tournament? They are costly to run, and President Cupérus was originally opposed to the idea of gymnastics competitions.

These are some of the questions that the Bureau of European Gymnastics Associations had to answer during the 1907 Congress.

Charles Cazalet, source: Wikimedia Commons
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1907 Sokols WAG World Championships

1907: Women’s Gymnastics at the Czech Sokol Rally

Women didn’t compete at the International Tournament in 1907. (They wouldn’t compete at the World Championships until 1934.) But female gymnasts were part of the Fifth Sokol Rally in 1907. 

Let’s take a look at their participation.

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1907 Sokols World Championships

1907: Negative Coverage of the Sokol Rally in the German-Language Press

In the official proceedings of the Sokol Rally, the Czechs wrote:

All the professional journals of Europe have written of the fitness of the Czechs, of the understanding in the nation, and today it is certain that we stand first in their eyes and that we have set the direction and pattern for gymnastic endeavors in Europe.

V slet všesokolský 1907: pamětní list vydaný péči

Všecky odborné časopisy evropské psaly o tělocvičné zdatnosti Čechů, o porozumění v národu a dnes je jisto, že v jejich očích stojíme na prvním místě a že jsme udali směr i vzor tělocvičným snahám v Evropě.

But that statement wasn’t exactly true. The German-language press had quite a few negative things to write about the Czech Sokols after the 1907 slet.

The Czech team at the 1907 International Tournament
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1907 MAG Perfect 10 World Championships

1907: Perfect Scores Abound at the World Championships in Prague

Almost 70 years before Nadia Comăneci and Nellie Kim scored their perfect 10s at the Montreal Olympics, there were several perfect scores awarded during the 1907 International Tournament. (The International Tournament was the original name for the World Championships.) 

The majority of those perfect scores were for the French team. Nevertheless, the Czech Sokols, newcomers to the International Tournament, took first, ending the French team’s winning streak.

Oh, and, in 1907, one of the first age controversies in gymnastics occurred.

The Czech team. Source: V. slet všesokolský 1907: pamětní list vydaný péči
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1907 MAG World Championships

1907: The Rules for the World Championships in Prague

Did you know that, once upon a time, there weren’t gold, silver, and bronze medals at the World Championships? Instead, there was a collection of art, and each team chose which piece of art they wanted. Winners got to choose first.

These are the little tidbits that you learn when you stumble across the rules for old gymnastics meets. Let’s take a look at the rules for the 1907 International Tournament (now called the World Championships).

The Czech team performing the preliminary calisthenics. Source: V. slet všesokolský 1907: pamětní list vydaný péči