SportAccord

SportAccord

Formation	1967
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Membership	92 full members and 17 associate members.
Official language	English, French
President	Francesco Ricci Bitti
Website	sportaccord.com

SportAccord is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations.^[1][2] SportAccord is an international sport organisation with 92 full members (international sports federations governing specific sports worldwide) and 17 associate members (organisations which conduct activities closely related to the international sports federations).^[2]

Mission and values

SportAccord is the umbrella organisation for both Olympic and non-Olympic international sports federations as well as organisers of international sporting events and in this case provide expertise in, for example, anti-doping, integrity, social responsibility.^[2]

By establishing multi-sports games that group together similar sports, the SportAccord aims to promote the members and the members visibility.^[2]

Definition of sport

The SportAccord has developed a definition of sport to determine whether an applicant federation qualifies as an international sports federation.

SportAccord's definition of Sport is the following definition:^[3]

• The sport proposed should include an element of competition.
• The sport should not rely on any element of “luck” specifically integrated into the sport.
• The sport should not be judged to pose an undue risk to the health and safety of its athletes or participants.
• The sport proposed should in no way be harmful to any living creature.
• The sport should not rely on equipment that is provided by a single supplier.

SportAccord uses five categories for its member federations' sports, many of which fall into more than one category:

• Primarily physical (e.g. rugby or athletics)
• Primarily mind (e.g. chess or go)
• Primarily motorised (e.g. Formula One or powerboating)
• Primarily coordination (e.g. billiards)
• Primarily animal-supported (e.g. equestrianism)

Membership

SportAccord operates with two term of membership. First of the international federation can be Full Member or secondary be Associate Member of SportAccord.^[4]

History

The SportAccord is deeply rooted in the sports movement. As early as 1921, international sports federations (IFs) expressed the need for a representative of their common objectives and interests. Under the direction of Paul Rousseau, Secretary General of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), a permanent bureau of the IFs was established to facilitate the dialogue with the Olympic authorities.

In 1967, 26 international sports federations met in Lausanne and agreed on the need to increase permanent liaisons and the name “General Assembly of International Sports Federations” was adopted. In order to establish a more formalised organisation, the “General Association of International Sports Federations" (GAISF) was formed in 1976 and the headquarters were moved to Monaco two years later.

The new millennium brought important changes to the organisation. Reacting to the increasing pressure on IFs to professionalise and develop, GAISF in collaboration with the Associations of Summer and Winter Olympic International Federations (ASOIF and AIOWF), launched first SportAccord International Convention in 2003. At the time, this new format “by sport for sport” allows IFs and sports business to get together, share knowledge and network.

In March 2009, GAISF was rebranded SportAccord and, in the same year, its offices moved from Monaco to Lausanne, the Olympic Capital. SportAccord officially adopted the mission to UNITE & SUPPORT and developed into a dynamic and active organisation which aims to serve and promote its members. Its ambition is to provide high-quality services and expertise in areas that are of high importance to its members.

Currently, SportAccord’s focus is on sports’ social responsibility, sports’ integrity, doping-free sport, digital media and multi-sports games.

1920s

As early as 1921, under the direction of Paul ROUSSEAU, Secretary General of the “Union Cycliste Internationale”, a permanent bureau of the international sports federations (IFs) was created. With regular IFs/IOC meetings taking place, dialogue with the Olympic authorities became easier. However, organisations that were not part of the Olympic movement were excluded.

1960s

In the 1960s, the sports movement evolved rapidly.

Roger Coulon, President of the “Fédération Internationale de Lutte Amateur”, was the first to express the need, for a wider recognition of the role of IFs. For non-Olympic federations, a forum which would enable them to better express their points of view was necessary. The creation of a stable organisation ensuring permanent relations between IFs appeared to be the logical continuation of the meetings which took place frequently but without rules or a fixed organisation. The common preparation of these meetings with the IOC could thus be better supported. It would also permit a constant liaison between the IFs and the outside world. In 1966, the time seemed appropriate and the convocation to the newly constituted Assembly was launched.

1967

On 21–23 April 1967, delegates from the following 26 international sports federations met in Lausanne in the Hotel Continental: Aeronautics, Rowing, Basketball, Bobsleigh, Boules, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Ice Hockey, Judo, Luge, Wrestling, Motorcycling, Swimming, Modern Pentathlon, Roller-Skating, Skiing, Shooting, Volleyball, Weightlifting, University Sport, and Maccabi.

The delegates agreed on the necessity to establish permanent liaisons between the IFs, for the defence of their objectives and common goals, the preservation of their autonomy and constant exchange of information. The name “General Assembly of International Sports Federations” was adopted.

In 1976, this name was replaced by “General Association of International Sports Federations” (GAISF). In 1978, the office moved from Lausanne to Monaco. GAISF represented the logical continuation of the past IFs meetings, dealing not only with Olympic matters but also with all questions of common interest for the IFs.

2000s

In 2003, in collaboration with ASOIF and AIOWF, GAISF launched the first SportAccord Convention to answer a need from the IFs, which were looking to have a “one-stop-shop”, where they could all hold their annual meetings, be encouraged to network and share their knowledge.

In March 2009, GAISF was rebranded SportAccord at the meeting of the 7th SportAccord International Convention in Denver. In April 2009, it moved its main office from Monaco to Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. Due to the growing ambitions of SportAccord, the team is continuously growing.^[5]

On May 25, 2012, the last of eight days of the annual General Assembly of SportAccord in Quebec City, the Federation of International Lacrosse and the International Mind Sports Association were accepted, bringing "the number of SportAccord members to 107".^[6]

On May 31, 2013, the last of eight days of the annual General Assembly of SportAccord in Saint Petersburg, the International Cheer Union and the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile were voted into SportAccord.^[7]

On April 20, 2015, at SportAccord's 2015 convention in Sochi, SportAccord president Marius Vizer made a speech that was sharply critical of the IOC and its president, Thomas Bach. Following the speech, the IAAF, the ISSF, and World Archery withdrew from SportAccord in protest,^[8] and there were a number of further withdrawals in May 2015 including the International Rowing Federation.^[9]

Member federations

#	Sport	Organisation	Acronym	Founded	Membership
					IOC	ASOIF	AIOWF	ARISF	IWGA
1	Aikido	International Aikido Federation	IAF	1940					•
2	Air sports	Fédération Aéronautique Internationale	FAI	1905	•			•	•
3	American football	International Federation of American Football	IFAF	1998				•
4	Aquatics	Federation Internationale de Natation	FINA	1908	•	•
5	Archery[10]	World Archery Federation	WA	1931	•	•			•
6	Athletics[10]	International Association of Athletics Federations	IAAF	1912	•	•
7	Automobile	Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile	FIA	1904	•			•
8	Badminton	Badminton World Federation	BWF	1934	•	•
9	Baseball and softball	World Baseball Softball Confederation	WBSC	2013	•			•
10	Basketball	Federation Internationale de Basketball	FIBA	1932	•	•
11	Basque pelota	Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca	FIPV	1929	•			•
12	Biathlon	International Biathlon Union	IBU	1993	•		•
13	Billiard sports	World Confederation of Billiard Sports	WCBS	1992	•			•	•
14	Bobsleigh	International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation	IBSF	1923	•		•
15	Bodybuilding	International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness	IFBB	1946					•
16	Boules	Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules	CMSB	1985	•			•	•
17	Bowling	World Bowling	WB	1952	•			•	•
18	Boxing	International Boxing Association	AIBA	1946	•	•
19	Bridge	World Bridge Federation	WBF	1958	•			•
20	Canoeing	International Canoe Federation	ICF	1946	•	•			•
21	Casting	International Casting Sport Federation	ICSF	1955					•
22	Cheer	International Cheer Union	ICU	2004
23	Chess	Fédération Internationale des Échecs	FIDE	1924	•			•
24	Climbing & Mountaineering	Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme	UIAA	1932	•			•
25	Cricket	International Cricket Council	ICC	1909	•			•
26	Curling	World Curling Federation	WCF	1966	•		•
27	Cycling	Union Cycliste Internationale	UCI	1900	•	•
28	DanceSport	World DanceSport Federation	WDSF	1957	•			•	•
29	Darts	World Darts Federation	WDF	1974
30	Dragon Boat	International Dragon Boat Federation	IDBF	1991
31	Draughts	Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames	FMJD	1947
32	Equestrian sports	Fédération Équestre Internationale	FEI	1921	•	•
33	Fencing	Fédération Internationale d'Escrime	FIE	1913	•	•
34	Fistball	International Fistball Association	IFA	1960					•
35	Floorball	International Floorball Federation	IFF	1986	•			•	•
36	Flying disc	World Flying Disc Federation	WFDF	1985	•			•	•
37	Football	Fédération Internationale de Football Association	FIFA	1904	•	•
38	Go	International Go Federation	IGF	1982
39	Golf	International Golf Federation	IGF	1958	•	•
40	Gymnastics	Federation Internationale de Gymnastique	FIG	1881	•	•			•
41	Handball	International Handball Federation	IHF	1946	•	•			•
42	Field hockey	International Hockey Federation	FIH	1924	•	•			•
43	Ice hockey	International Ice Hockey Federation	IIHF	1908	•		•
44	Ice stock sport	International Federation Icestocksport	IFI	1983?
45	Judo	International Judo Federation	IJF	1951	•	•
46	Ju-Jitsu	Ju-Jitsu International Federation	JJIF	1977					•
47	Karate	World Karate Federation	WKF	1970	•			•	•
48	Kendo	International Kendo Federation	FIK	1970
49	Kickboxing	World Association of Kickboxing Organizations	WAKO	1976					•
50	Korfball	International Korfball Federation	IKF	1963	•			•	•
51	Lacrosse	Federation of International Lacrosse	FIL	2008
52	Lifesaving	International Life Saving Federation	ILS	1993	•			•	•
53	Luge	Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course	FIL	1957	•		•
54	Minigolf	World Minigolf Sport Federation	WMF	1963
55	Modern pentathlon	Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne	UIPM	1912	•	•
56	Motorcycling	Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme	FIM	1904	•			•
57	Muaythai	International Federation of Muaythai Amateur	IFMA	1993					•
58	Netball	International Federation of Netball Associations	IFNA	1960	•			•	•
59	Orienteering	International Orienteering Federation	IOF	1961	•			•	•
60	Polo	Federation of International Polo	FIP	1983	•			•
61	Powerboating	Union Internationale Motonautique	UIM	1927	•			•
62	Powerlifting	International Powerlifting Federation	IPF	1971					•
63	Racquetball	International Racquetball Federation	IRF	1950	•			•	•
64	Roller sports	Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports	FIRS	1924	•			•	•
65	Rowing	Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron	FISA	1892	•	•
66	Rugby union	World Rugby	WR	1886	•	•			•
67	Sailing	International Sailing Federation	ISAF	1907	•	•
68	Sambo	Fédération Internationale de Sambo	FIAS	1992
69	Savate	Federation Internationale de Savate	FISav	1992
70	Sepaktakraw	International Sepaktakraw Federation	ISTAF	1988
71	Shooting sport[10]	International Shooting Sport Federation	ISSF	1907	•	•
72	Skating	International Skating Union	ISU	1892	•		•
73	Skiing	Fédération Internationale de Ski	FIS	1924	•		•
74	Ski mountaineering	International Ski Mountaineering Federation	ISMF	2008				•
75	Sleddog	International Federation of Sleddog Sports	IFSS	1992
76	Soft tennis	International Soft Tennis Federation	ISTF	1999
77	Sport climbing	International Federation of Sport Climbing	IFSC	2007	•			•	•
78	Sports fishing	Confédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive	CIPS	1952
79	Squash	World Squash Federation	WSF	1967	•			•	•
80	Sumo	International Sumo Federation	IFS	1992	•			•	•
81	Surfing	International Surfing Association	ISA	1964	•			•	•
82	Table tennis	International Table Tennis Federation	ITTF	1926	•	•
83	Taekwondo	World Taekwondo Federation	WTF	1973	•	•
84	Tennis	International Tennis Federation	ITF	1913	•	•
85	Triathlon	International Triathlon Union	ITU	1989	•	•
86	Tug of war	Tug of War International Federation	TWIF	1960	•			•	•
87	Underwater sports	Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques	CMAS	1959	•			•	•
88	Volleyball	Fédération Internationale de Volleyball	FIVB	1947	•	•
89	Waterskiing	International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation	IWWF	1955	•			•	•
90	Weightlifting	International Weightlifting Federation	IWF	1905	•	•
91	Wrestling	United World Wrestling	UWW	1912	•	•
92	Wushu	International Wushu Federation	IWUF	1990	•			•
					66	28	7	34	33

Associate members

• Commonwealth Games: Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)
• European broadcasting: European Broadcasting Union (EBU o UER)
• Masters Games: International Masters Games Association (IMGA)
• Mediterranean Games: International Committee of Mediterranean Games (ICMG o CIJM)
• Military World Games: Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM)
• World Mind Sports Games: International Mind Sports Association (IMSA)
  • SportAccord World Mind Games: International Mind Sports Association (IMSA)
• Panathlon: Panathlon International (PI)
• Paralympic Games: International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
• School Sports: International School Sport Federation (ISF)
• Special Olympics: Special Olympics (SOI)
• Sports chiropractic: Federation Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport (FICS)
• Sports facilities: International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS)
• Sports for the Deaf: International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS)
• Sports Medicine: International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS)
• The World Games: International World Games Association (IWGA)
• Universiade: Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU)
• CSIT World Sports Games: International Labour Sports Federation (CSIT)

List of GAISF presidents

President	Member of	Duration
W Berge Phillips	FINA	1967–1969
Thomas Keller	FISA	1969-1986
Un Yong Kim	WTF	1986–2004
Hein Verbruggen	UCI	2004–2013
Marius Vizer	IJF	2013–2015
Gian-Franco Kasper (Acting President)	FIS	2015-2016
Patrick Baumann	FIBA	2016-present

Current organizational structure

President	Vice president	Vice president	General director
Francesco Ricci Bitti	Raffaele Chiulli	Stephan Fox	Nis Hatt

The SportAccord International Convention

Originally launched in 2003, SportAccord International Convention is a gathering of more than 2,500 leading representatives from the sport industry. It offers the participants a powerful opportunity to come together on a global scale, in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment, to build relationships, share knowledge and develop ideas that will benefit the entire community.^[11]

Unlike any other event of its type, SportAccord International Convention is owned and endorsed by the sports movement itself. It was created and is owned by SportAccord, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of International Olympic Winter Federations (AIOWF). Over the past decade, SportAccord International Convention has become one of the key fixtures on the world-wide sporting calendar. It allows associations as well as the international sports federations to increase efficiency by holding all their annual meetings at the same time and place, and serves also as a commercial platform whereby the sports industry can have 'one-stop-shop' access to the world governing bodies of sport and their key decision-makers.^[12]

SAIC	Dates	Host City
1st	May 12–16, 2003	Madrid, Spain
2nd	May 15–20, 2004	Lausanne, Switzerland (#1)[13]
3rd	April 16–20, 2005	Berlin, Germany
4th	April 3–7, 2006	Seoul, South Korea[14]
5th	April 22–27, 2007	Beijing, China[15]
6th	June 2–6, 2008	Athens, Greece[16][17][18]
7th	March 23–27, 2009[19][20]	Denver, United States[21][22]
8th	April 20–25, 2010[23]	Dubai, United Arab Emirates[24][25]
9th	April 3–8, 2011[26]	London, United Kingdom[27][28]
10th	May 20–25, 2012[29]	Quebec City, Canada[30][31]
11th	May 26–31, 2013[32]	Saint Petersburg, Russia[33]
12th	April 6–11, 2014[34]	Belek, Turkey[35]
13th	April 19–24, 2015[36]	Sochi, Russia[37]
14th	April 17–22, 2016	Lausanne, Switzerland (#2)[38]
15th	April 2–7, 2017	Aarhus, Denmark[39]

See also

• International Olympic Committee (IOC)
• Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF)
• Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF)
• Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF)
• International World Games Association (IWGA)
• List of international sport federations
• World Combat Games
• SportAccord World Mind Games

Notes and references

1. "Members". SportAccord – International Federations' Union (sportaccord.com). 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
2. "MISSION". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
3. "Definition of Sport". SportAccord.
4. "Associate Membership". SportAccord. 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
5. "History of SportAccord". SportAccord. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
6. "Federation of International Lacrosse and International Mind Sports Association are new SportAccord Members". SportAccord. 25 May 2012.
7. "International Cheer Union and Federation Internationale de l'Automobile are new SportAccord Members". SportAccord. 31 May 2013.
8. Livingstone, Robert. "SportAccord Counts Its Losses After Chief's Attack on Olympics Backfires". GamesBids.com. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
9. "World Rowing resigns from SportAccord". insidethegames. 20 May 2015.
10. The IAAF, ISSF and World Archery Federation withdrew from SportAccord on April 20, 2015.
11. Convention History[?]. SportAccord Convention.
12. "SportAccord International Convention". Retrieved 2011-09-16.
13. "Lausanne To Host 2004 SportAccord Convention" (PDF). SportAccord. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
14. "The World Meets In Seoul" (PDF). Around the Rings. April 2006. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
15. "Countdown to Beijing" (PDF). Around the Rings. April 2007. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
16. "Athens hosted the most successful edition of SportAccord". Athens Convention Bureau (English). Retrieved 2011-09-16.
17. "SportAccord 2008 tightens focus on cities". Sport Business. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
18. "Athens Hosts Sixth Edition of SportAccord" (PDF). Around the Rings. June 2008. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
19. "Sportaccord 2009 Kicks Off in Denver". Around the Rings. March 23, 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
20. "Denver Global Program (in .pdf)" (PDF). SportAccord. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
21. "Denver is first North American city to host SportAccord conference". Metro Denver. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
22. "Around the Rings Special Edition - SportAccord Denver" (PDF). Around the Rings. March 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
23. "Dubai Global Program (in .pdf)" (PDF). SportAccord. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
24. "Dubai to host SportAccord in 2010". Sport Business. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
25. "Around the Rings Special Edition - Dubai" (PDF). Around the Rings. April 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
26. "Registration opens for 2011 SportAccord Convention in London". london.gov.uk. October 4, 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
27. "London To Host SportAccord Convention". London Press Service. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
28. "Around the Rings SportAccord Special Edition" (PDF). Around the Rings. April 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
29. "SportAccord Convention Selects Iconic Quebec Hotel". Around the Rings. June 22, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
30. "SportAccord Convention 2012 Awarded to Québec City". Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
31. "The ATR SportAccord 2012 Special Edition". Around the Rings. May 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
32. "Saint Petersburg to host 2013 SportAccord Convention". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
33. Around the Rings Special Edition about 2013 SportAccord Convention
34. "SportAccord convention 2013 draws record attendance". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
35. "Conferences Convention - SportAccord 2014 to Turkey". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
36. "Dates for 2015 SportAccord International Convention in Sochi announced". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
37. "Sochi to host 2015 SportAccord International Convention". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
38. "Where Sports Meet". Retrieved 9 April 2016.
39. "SportAccord Convention 2017 awarded to Aarhus in Denmark". Retrieved 2016-04-19.

External links

• Official web site of SportAccord