Doha World Cup in Qatar is starting Tuesday. 109 males and 29 females from 38 countries are competing. The new leotard rule (check "New leotards rule!":
http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=503) allowing shorts is pretty new, so maybe the number of women competing in this area will increase later.
You can tell lots of people like the option of wearing shorts in competition, not just in the 'non-traditional gymnastics countries':
"Wearing shorts in competition too!"
http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=104&highlight=leotard+rule
And the guys: Hamm twins are going for the no leo at all, but tight shirts instead:
"Guys - Leotards - Who wears them?"
http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=1607&highlight=leotard+rule
"New no leos rule for guys??!!!"
http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?t=1176
The Doha World Cup:
[quote]The Doha World Cup, the first of eight World Cup events in 2008, is the first World Cup to be held in an Arab nation.
"It's the FIG's goal to take this sport beyond traditional countries like Japan, Italy, France, USA and Germany," said Dr. Michel Leglise, FIG vice president. "The Qatar Gymnastics Federation President Abdul Rahman al Shathri has always been in the forefront of taking the cause of gymnastics forward. The event will help the growth of the sport in the country and the region." [/quote]
http://intlgymnast.com/news/2008/mar/030308_worldcup.html
Some of the top gymnastis going are World medalists Hiroyuki Tomita (Japan), Oksana Chusovitina (Germany), Jordan Jovtchev (Bulgaria), Yann Cucherat (France) and Anna Pavlova (Russia).