European Games Sporting Events

After the fabulous opening ceremony of the European Games, our attention turned to the sporting events.  I was very excited to see multiple sports - those both familiar and new to me - live on an international stage.  

Gymnastics has always been one of my favorite Summer Olympic sports.  Therefore it was a must-see for me.  I got my fill with a whole afternoon of both the men's and women's events. 

Women's Gymnastics Beam Finalist

I was also really looking forward to Track & Field, especially the women's hurdles, an event I ran myself in high school.

Qualifying heat of the Women's 100 Meter Hurdles

But, it turned out, I was more fascinated by the events I had rarely or never seen before.  One of them was Acrobatic Gymnastics.  I had never even heard of it before; it is not an Olympic event.  A very simple description is that it's a bit like cheerleading combined with circus acrobatics.  The competition I saw was a team event of three women who tumbled, climbed, flew, and cartwheeled across the mat performing exciting routines of strength, balance, and agility.  

Acrobatic Gymnasts create a human tower

Probably the most memorable event for me was Table Tennis.  I know, I know, seriously?!  Even I was skeptical, particularly when I realized I had a ticket for a five-hour session.  But, it was actually really fun to watch.  Especially because each player had a different serving style and clearly displayed his personality - often loudly and passionately - during play and especially when he scored a point.  

Bulgaria Table Tennis player serves to Italy

Jeremy's favorite event was Beach Soccer, another non-Olympic event.  It is played 5-on-5.  Because of the undulating surface of the sand, the game is played more in the air than on the ground, with lots of fancy air-kicks and headers.

Beach Soccer in action

Throughout it all, Azerbaijan - the Land of Fire - added its own flair to the events with fire machines that breathed flames into the air at key competition junctures.  Although there was some hiccups, Azerbaijan can congratulate itself on a Games well done and we were incredibly lucky to be a witness to it.

Flames add excitement to introduction of Beach Soccer teams