Artistic gymnastics
In 1881, the FIG was founded, and it remains the governing body of international gymnastics. It initially included only three countries and was called the European Gymnastics Federation until 1921, when the first non-European countries joined the federation and it was reorganized into its present form. Gymnastics was included in the program of the 1896 Summer Olympics, but women have been allowed to participate in the Olympics only since 1928. The World Championships, held since 1903, were open only to men until 1934. Since that time, two branches of artistic gymnastics have developed: women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) and men's artistic gymnastics (MAG). Unlike men's and women's branches of many other sports, WAG and MAG differ significantly in apparatus used at major competitions and in techniques.
Artistic Gymnastics World Cup
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) hosted the first artistic gymnastics on an international scale in 1975. This genre of sport from then onwards was named as the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, an original competition reserved for the current best gymnasts. It was composed of a single and unique event, bringing together very few gymnasts in all around competition and in apparatus finals. This initiative was taken in a particular context, since the world championships took place merely every four years. The world cup event held every year for artistic gymnastics was, however, upheld only until 1990.