Gymnast Pan Caichen. (File photo provided by Pan Caichen)
[Reporter Nian Miaoyun/Taipei Report] Taiwanese teenagers Pan Caichen and Li Jiawei qualified for the World Gymnastics Championships in the Netherlands in October this year at the end of August. However, the Gymnastics Association directly rejected the World Gymnastics Federation (WG) on the grounds of urgent administrative procedures without informing the coaches and athletes, causing controversy. In response to external criticism, the Gymnastics Association issued a statement today. In addition to taking stock of the complete administrative procedures, it also formally apologized for the troubles and doubts caused by the time difference in message delivery and also promised to review and improve.
In response to the "dispute over the replacement of qualifications for the World Gymnastics Championships" that has been of concern to all walks of life recently, after issuing a preliminary handling statement on September 6, the Association has conducted an internal re-examination of the complete administrative process, selection standards over the years, and relevant laws and regulations. Hereby, the full story of the incident, division of powers and responsibilities, and objective data are fully explained as follows:
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This association will always remember the sweat and efforts that every athlete has put in to strive for the international stage. This association expresses its deep apologies and regrets for the time difference between internal horizontal communication and message transmission in this incident, which resulted in the failure to convey the supplementary information to coaches and players as soon as possible, causing trouble and doubts.
This World Cup series is an international individual individual points competition. According to current regulations, although the team coach leads the competition and is responsible for points tracking, this incident reflects that there is indeed room for improvement in the international information docking and emergency reporting mechanism between the association and front-line coaches.
Regarding the failure to complete communication and confirmation before the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) system was shut down, resulting in a time lag in message transmission, the Secretary-General of the Federation has requested the Chairman to submit an internal process review and promised to fully optimize the administrative horizontal contact mechanism and never shirk the responsibility.
1.
Division of powers and responsibilities and description of event sequence
(1) Event mechanism: The non-public selection of players participating in the World Cup series is determined by the appointment of the national team coach. It is an International Gymnastics Federation individual individual points accumulation competition. According to Article 11 of the Association's "Coaching System Implementation Rules", the calculation of personal points, changes in global rankings and potential replacement qualifications in World Cup events are all professional responsibilities of the team coach who should actively track and calculate and report to the Association.
(2) Delay in notification: After the five World Cup events in this case ended on April 12, the coach did not proactively notify the Association about the possibility of supplementing the players. The association received an unexpected letter from FIG in the early morning of August 20 and was limited to reply within one day. Because there was no prior warning from the coach, the administrative team was unable to prepare review materials in advance. On that day, the Secretary-General considered that it was objectively impossible to complete the legal procedures such as the review of the selection and training committee within one day, and truthfully responded to the FIG that the procedures could not be completed within the deadline. This was an objective state limited by legal procedures, and was not a substantial denial of the players' qualifications.
(3) Review of internal horizontal contacts
After the Association responded to the objective status truthfully on August 20 due to time constraints, due to internal horizontal communication gaps, it was unable to proactively track and transmit the information to coaches and players before the system was shut down. The Association has strictly reviewed this administrative contact time difference and has established an immediate response and two-way synchronization mechanism.
2. Comparison of competition performance evaluation and competitive threshold
According to Article 3 of the "Measures for the Selection, Training and Participation of National Team Coaches and Players" and the operating principles of the competent authorities, obtaining a quota for international competitions only means that you are qualified to register. Members of the national team must still undergo substantial competitive evaluation based on professional standards and objective results.
The Federation has compared the "2025-2028 Period Gymnastics Scoring Rules" with the consistent selection standards for national athletes in current events (2026 Asian Games, 2026 Asian Championships and 2025 World Championships). Regardless of whether they are evaluated based on high or low standards, there is still a considerable gap between the actual scores of the two athletes. Objectively, they do not meet the professional standards for the national team. Therefore, the Federation will not send players to compete after substantive evaluation. (See attachment: Score Comparison Table)
3. Commitment to follow-up system optimization
In response to the problems in the competition participation mechanism exposed by this incident, the Association will actively promote system changes to ensure that the selection and registration of all future international competitions are more open, fair and transparent.
(1) Two-way points and information synchronization: Coaches will report results and points as soon as possible after each game, and the Association will synchronize the results and announce them on the official website. The Association will also regularly check the entry order list of international organizations and notify coaches and players simultaneously, so that both parties can accurately grasp the possibility of replacement.
(2) Pre-season announcement of decisions: Before the start of the season, the selection and training committee will pre-review the resolutions and announce the records regarding the qualification criteria, selection order and replacement principles. Afterwards, players who qualify can directly follow the resolutions to improve administrative efficiency.
(3) Immediate notification and response mechanism: When receiving notifications from international organizations involving players’ rights, coaches and players will be notified simultaneously on the same day; if the response period does not reach two working days, a temporary training committee can be convened by video or in writing and a letter must be sent to request an extension in advance. It is strictly prohibited to give up the participation reply.
In the future, the association will build a more compact "two-way synchronous reporting and response system", with dedicated personnel assisting front-line coaches in grasping information in real time, fully assisting players in preparing for subsequent major international competitions, and regaining the trust of players and the public through practical actions.
Score comparison table. (Provided by the Gymnastics Association)
