Participants in the World Gymnaestrada next summer will use equipment and materials from renowned Dutch manufacturer Janssen-Fritsen. The organization of the major gymnastics event, which will take place in Amsterdam from the 30th of July till the 5th of August 2023, speaks of a logical choice. Janssen-Fritsen has a good reputation, the company has been around for over 70 years now and has supplied gymnastic equipment for the Olympics in Mexico, Munich, Barcelona, Athens, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
After being awarded the organisation of the World Gymnastraeda, we immediately knew who to turn to for the equipment and other materials, Janssen-Fritsen is a big name in the gymnastics world,” said Tom Wennekes on behalf of the organisation of World Gymnaestrada Amsterdam 2023. John van der Horst, managing director of Janssen-Fritsen Netherlands, is pleased with the trust placed in his company. “We know what we can do, it’s nice when others see that too.”
Janssen-Fritsen have already supplied equipment for the World Gymnaestrada in the past. In fact, that history goes back to 1953, when the very first World Gymnaestrada was in Rotterdam. Janssen-Fritsen was also involved in 1991 (Amsterdam), 2003 (Lisbon) and 2015 (Helsinki). Van der Horst: ,,And our sister company Spieth Gymnastics, which is also part of the Abéo-Group, has also supplied products on several occasions. So we know a lot about the reputation of the World Gymnaestrada, which has large numbers of participants, making it the largest gymnastics event in the world. It is a wonderful opportunity for us as Janssen-Fritsen to enable all those athletes to work with our materials.”
The more than 50 participating countries have all been able to submit their wishes to the organisation over the past few months. Moreover, based on the inventory lists, that were made at the World Gymnaestrada in Dornbirn (2019), a good estimate could already be made about how much specific apparatus, mats and airtracks were needed.
A big part of the materials come from the KNGU. Janssen-Fritsen has been a partner of the Dutch gymnastics federation for a long time already, supplying all the necessary equipment for competitions and demonstrations. What was not in stock has recently been ordered. Van der Horst: “By getting down to brass tacks now, both we as producers and suppliers as the organisation are assured of timely delivery. That is a reassuring thought in these extraordinary times, where scarcity is occurring on all sorts of fronts and commodity prices seem to be rising weekly.”
It dizzied Wennekes, responsible for setting up the various venues on behalf of the organisation, particularly when it became clear how many mats and airtracks were needed. ,,I come from the gymnastics world myself, so fortunately I already knew all the materials and their specific applications. But the fact that you need so many mats was also a surprise for me. But, even with that question we could turn to Janssen-Fritsen, they can handle all volumes.”
After the World Gymnaestrada 2023, the organisation will contact sports federations inland and abroad, gymnastics clubs from the Netherlands and schools in Amsterdam, among others, to see if the equipment and mats can be reused there. ”Sustainability is a great thing, it would obviously be a shame to use these beautiful materials only for one week,” Wennekes said.
Janssen-Fritsen will also set up a number of exercise and training areas outside the RAI and Olympic Stadium for visitors and participants of the World Gymnaestrada. Van der Horst: “Among other things, people can try out our new freerunning line BRICK there.”
For more information:
Janssen-Fritsen Nederland
Berkveld 1, 5709 AE Helmond
+31492530930
World Gymnaestrada 2023
TIG Sports
Valschermkade 30, 1059 CD Amsterdam
+31205709060
