The World Gymnaestrada - a Non-Competetive Event The Concept 'Gymnastics for all' from the Perspective of Ling Gymnastics

During the twentieth century, large, non-competitive Gymnastics festivals were held in Europe. An early festival of this kind was the 1939 Lingiad, which was held in Stockholm and based on the principles of Ling gymnastics. A later variation that is still going today is the World Gymnaestrada, which is based on the principle of 'Gymnastics for All'. The aim of this study is to highlight the concept Gymnastics for All and, above all, to examine whether it contains any elements of Ling gymnastics. Three pairs of opposing concepts, general–elite, collectivism–individualism, and modesty–ambition, have been used for this task. The study is based on twenty group interviews and eighty-seven observations. The results show that one similarity between the two forms of gymnastics is their non-competitiveness, and another is the view of collectivism and general, namely that gymnastics should be performed together and the idea behind both gives everyone an opportunity to participate. The major difference between the two can be linked to the increased individualization of society during this period. This is shown, for instance, by the fact that many of the participants, young people under the age of twenty-five, despite their participation in the Gymnaestrada hold individual competitions in higher esteem than group display.