(ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA) Applications from the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), International Floorball Federation (IFF) and International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) were approved by the IWGA’s Member Federations at the Association’s General Assembly
[on 26 May 2013 during the SportAccord Convention in St. Petersburg].
However, the application from the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO) was not approved.
IWGA President Ron Froehlich at the Association’s General Assembly. © IWGA
“It is an important development to have applications from three IFs accepted by our members,” IWGA President Ron Froehlich said. “We can now start moving forward with their new memberships.
“On many occasions in the past there have been IFs that have wanted to apply for membership, but we have had to turn them down.
“However, we will continue to look at new applications because we want to attract the best sports.”
Despite being approved as new Members, this does not necessarily mean that the sports will feature at the World Games, as all of the IWGA’s sports must apply for a space on the programme of the Association’s flagship event from the 2017 edition in Wroclaw, Poland.
From left to right: Ron Balls, Finance Director FIL, Tom Hayes, Director of Development FIL, Tomas Eriksson, President IFF, IWGA President Ron Froehlich, Dr. Sakchchye Tapsuwan, President IFMA and John Liljelund, Secretary General IFF.
© IWGA
The IWGA’s three new Member Federations were delighted to be brought into the fold. “We feel very honoured by being accepted by the IFs and we will promise to be a good Member,” Dr Sakchchye Tapsuwan, President of the IFMA, said. “I’m sure that we can help the World Games to become more important, and we want to export our sport to the world.”
John Liljelund, the IFF’s Secretary General, said: “We are very happy that our application has been approved by the IF delegates. I’m sure we can contribute to the success of the World Games.” FIL Director of Development Tom Hayes added: “We are glad that we are now part of the community of the IWGA.”
At the General Assembly, there were also presentations from the next two hosts of the World Games – Cali in Colombia later this year, and Wroclaw in four years’ time.
Ana Lucia Tenorio, Secretary General of the Cali Local Organising Committee, said ahead of the July 25 to August 4 event: “We are getting ready, not just in terms of the infrastructure, but all other aspects too.”
Froehlich added: “It was very important to hear from Cali, and our IF Members will have an opportunity to speak with the organisers as they are going to be here in Saint Petersburg for the whole week.”
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Read Article on IWGA Website: Three New Members
About the FIL
The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) is the international governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. The FIL currently has 47 member nations and sanctions five World Championships (women’s and men’s field, women’s and men’s U19 field and men’s indoor.) The FIL is responsible for the governance and integrity of all forms of lacrosse and provides responsive and effective leadership to support the sports’ development throughout the world.
About the International World Games Association
The principal aim of the IWGA is to develop the popularity of the sports governed by its Member Federations, to improve their prominence through excellent sporting achievements, and to conserve all the traditional values of sport through The World Games.Founded in 1981, the International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-governmental and non-profit-making international organization constituted under Swiss law. Made up of International Sports Federations, it administers a quadrennial and multidisciplinary sports event, The World Games, which aspires to equal and exceed the importance of world championships organized by each federation individually.
Since its founding meeting in Seoul, Korea, IWGA membership increased from 12 to currently 33 International Sports Federations (IFs). For IFs to become a Member of the IWGA, their membership with SportAccord (formerly General Association of International Sports Federations – GAISF) is prerequisite. The IWGA is a member of SportAccord and represented on its Council. Another requirement is that the sports, or disciplines of sports, proposed by the federations for inclusion in The World Games are not currently on the program of the Games of the Olympiad.
In the year following The World Games, the IWGA General Meeting elects a seven-member Executive Committee to a term of four years. This board coordinates and supervises all matters related to The World Games on behalf of the Member IFs. The board’s tasks include making recommendations for the selection of suitable host cities and serving as the permanent liaison between the IWGA and the games’ organizers.
Part of the Olympic Movement
The International World Games Association is an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Affirming that IOC and IWGA share the same values of promoting physical and sporting activities for the well-being of society, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2000. In this MoU the IOC pledges to maintain its cooperation with the IWGA, to provide expertise and to help in the promotion of IWGA activities within the Olympic Movement. The IOC also grants its patronage to the hosts of The World Games and provides the Local Organizing Committees with technical assistance through its knowledge management programs.
The IWGA is aware of the importance for athletes and officials in all sports to participate in The World Games as nationally representative delegations. To achieve that, the IOC encourages all National Olympic Committee to support and assist their multi-sport delegation taking part in the event.
Jacques Rogge
IOC President Jacques Rogge
“By signing a cooperation agreement with the International World Games Association, the International Olympic Committee recognizes the important role The World Games play as a multi-sport event. In particular, this event provides participating athletes with the opportunity to join with their countrymen and countrywomen from other sports, in the Olympic spirit, and compete as part of a national team at the highest level.”
