Non-U.S. citizens who want to compete in gymnastics in the United States
To comply with International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) rules, a gymnast who is living and training in the United States but is not a U.S. citizen must acquire written approval from the gymnastics federation from his/her respective native country (for which he/she holds a passport) before he/she may compete in competitions held in the United States. If a gymnast who is not a U.S. citizen competes without the written permission from his/her national federation, it is a violation of the FIG's regulations. Getting approval from that federation is the responsibility of the athlete, and this rule applies to all levels of competition in all five programs (men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics).
To make it easier, below is a link to a draft letter that gymnasts may send to the appropriate national gymnastics federation, as well as a link to the FIG's directory of national gymnastics federations.
The athlete is responsible for keeping the official documentation from the Federation on file. A copy of the letter of approval from the appropriate national gymnastics federation must be provided to the gymnast's club.
Draft Letter in MSWord.doc format
Go to: | FIG FEDERATIONS | - click DIRECTORY to use the drop-down search or click on AFFILIATED FEDERATIONS for a PDF file