Sporting for All – Bringing sports to everyone

Nin, Croatia – From September 20 to 23, 2017, the 2017 edition of the World Championships will be held at Zaton Holiday Resort. The World Championships is the most prestigious event on the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) calendar and will crown the top players and teams in the world. It’s being held at the end of a packed month of competition at Zaton as the World Adventure Golf Masters and World Deaf Champions were held there last week. There are 23 countries represented in this year’s World Championships, with 166 total participants (53 women and 113 men). This year sees three new countries joining the entry list as Brazil, Australia and Canada have sent participants to this major event. An official list of the countries participating can be found below. Participants had official practice days from September 15 up through today to hone their skills on the two courses that will be played during the championships. They will play rounds on both the felt golf and miniaturegolf style courses during the four days of competition. The first three days will feature stroke-play competition as players fight for individual stroke-play glory and the glory of their country and the awarding […]

Over two hours of spectacular dance, music and sporting action athletes from around Asia and Oceania were welcomed to Ashgabat for the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games. A reception took place beforehand in the Olympique Hotel where excellent food and drinks were served to the delegates and guests of Ashgabat 2017. In the stadium everyone in the audience had a LED device which lit up at certain key points including the Athletes’ Parade – a fantastic sight for all and great excitement for all from all participating sports to experience. Among the highlights acts were the traditional equestrian show, showcasing a central part of Turkmen culture. The cauldron is now lit for the duration of the Games! AIMS President, Stephan Fox said the event was a great tribute to the hard work of the Ashgabat Committee, and he was proud that there are 3 sports from AIMS have the opportunity to be a part of such great event. The Chairman of the 5th AIMAG Executive Committee, Mr Dayanch Gulgeldiyev, called the Opening Ceremony an important event in country’s history. “As well as bring the Opening Ceremony for the biggest edition of the Games to date, it is a proud moment for […]

Signifying a “new chapter in its history”, the cheerful and energetic new logo has been launched by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) previously known as SportAccord. The logo, compiled by Barcelona-based designer José Miguel Tortajada Aguilar, is seeking to have a “powerful impact” and to “instantly identify the organisation”. Its most distinguishing feature is a slanted letter “G” to represent a “global” nature. “In a world of instant communication there’s more truth than ever in the saying that ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ and I think this really hits the mark,” said GAISF President Patrick Baumann. “The new brand identity represents the beginning of a new era for GAISF but it is important to remember that the changes in our organisation go beyond the visual to the very heart of our mission. “I believe GAISF today has a clear sense of purpose and is structured, organised and resourced in a way that makes it even more effective as a service provider to members at a time of great change in the world of sport and beyond.” The new logo was commissioned following the decision of members at the General Assembly in […]

The World Games, the greatest international sports event this year is over.           All expressions are settled down and our athletes are now at vacations. WAKO can be proud of the first participation as an invitational sport, looking forward to Birmingham, Alabama 2021, where we expect to take part as a regular sport in the program. Two times during ten days of fantastic competition we had kickboxer selected as The Athlete of the Day: Roza Gumienna was the female athlete of the first day of the competition, taking the oath on behalf of all participating athletes of the Games and after the finals of the second day of kickboxing competition, Slobodan Mijajlović, European and World Champion and the winner of The World Games received the prestigious award as a male athlete of the day.         Two days reserved to the kickboxing event in the Orbita hall in Wroclaw was full of audience, especially in the finals when the hall was full to the last seat. The atmosphere was great and feedback from live broadcasting at Olympic Chanel was great too. The great interest of WAKO kickboxing participation at The World Games was proved in WAKO Social media, where our […]

A special meeting took place in Bangkok between ARISF President Raffaele Chiulli and AIMS President Stephan Fox. The meeting was important to discuss cooperation in many ways, and also to discuss activities and ideas for the upcoming SportAccord Convention 2018 in Bangkok. A meeting was also arrangement between the ARISF president and the minister of Tourism and Sports, HE Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul.

WAKO has received the FISU (International University Sports Federation) recognition. WAKO  have reached a new milestone in its international status by being recognized by FISU. This has been a long process with two years of work. We have structured documentation, have had meetings, have executed two surveys and got documentation to prove our work within this field. FISU (International University Sports Federation) is an IOC recognized organization and this recognition simply manifest again WAKO as a robust organization worldwide. Students are the important target group for WAKO. We already have an extended student and university activity . Energetic, goal targeted activities for this young group are important to develop our organization and to keep our great athletes inside our great sport. The door opens for more national federations do develop activities nationally and for WAKO internationally doors open to enter the games and activities inside the FISU umbrella. WAKO thanks to all national federations working with us for the surveys, for the papers provided, for the support given and of course thank you for the activities you already organize for students. Last but not least I send out deep gratitude to FISU and their President Oleg Matytsin and his team for accepting us. Next goal for […]

AIMS visited the city hall on invitation of the Mayor of Wroclaw, Mr. Rafał Dutkiewicz. The Mayor was presented with a special token by President Stephan Fox and Vice President Panagiotis Theodoropoulos, thanking him on behalf of all AIMS members, for the people of Wroclaw in opening their homes and hearts to the youth of the world. Mr. Fox especially thanked the Mayor for the amazing championships, assured and that everyone will leave Wroclaw at the end of the games with unforgettable memories of true Polish hospitality.

Fistball, Ju-jistu, Lacrosse, Kickboxing and Powerlifting will be taking part in the 2017 World Games, along with former AIMS members that have made their way into the ARISF family – American Football, Flying Disk and Muaythai. AIMS General Secretary Gerhard Zimmermann stated, “The atmosphere across the venues was electrifying! AIMS is proud to have such a strong presence at the World Games. The attendance in the venues shows the true popularity of the AIMS Sports.”

AIMS President Stephan Fox and Council Member Michal Buchel were invited to the VI MINEPS international conference for ministers and senior officials responsible for physical education and sport. The conference was held from the 13th – 15th July in Kazan, Russia and was attended by representatives from over 120 countries. Both AIMS representatives had the chance to address the audience, the AIMS President, Mr Fox as one of the experts in the panel and Council Member and FIAS CEO, Mr. Buchel as rapporteur on behalf of the working group. AIMS will continue to promote and foster integrity in sport as an IOC recognized umbrella group and as one of the five umbrella groups in GAISF. Mr. Fox, stated, ” it is important that the governments understand the good governance work of AIMS members, especially as non-IOC recognised individual federations.”

With the support from the IOC, WAKO has conducted its first Train the Trainer session within the IOC ACP, in order for WAKO staff to deliver parts of the ACP outreach program for athletes or coaching them in a right direction. A mix of delegates from WAKO Athlete Committee, Coach Committee, and Women Committee participated in this pilot and it was conducted as a workshop. The delegates were introduced to the ACP program and tested various tasks and tools as a part of the ACP program.         The objective is to give WAKO staff the possibility during the coming championships to organize small workshops and seminars for our athletes. ACP as a service should become important in the WAKO, and our objective is to develop a mechanism that can educate athletes in career planning, raising awareness of the importance of combining an athletic career with preparation/transition for life after sport. The IOC ACP is based on three pillars; education, employment, and life skills.          The session was organized in Oslo 25 June by invitation from WAKO Norway and WAKO Vice-President Espen Lund. Mrs. Tonje Hinze who is the ACP manager within the Norway NOC and a part of the IOC […]

Olympic Day is more than just a sports event, it is about participating in sport as a way of life, learning and understanding the Olympic values and enjoying the many sports there are. Many events take place around the world and AIMS member federations participate in various forms. The AIMS leadership came together in Lausanne, President Stephan Fox, General Secretary Gerhard Zimmermann and Council Member Michal Buchel, all enjoyed the Olympic Day at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne organized by the IOC and opened by the IOC president, Dr. Thomas Bach. The AIMS President Mr. Fox also took time out to visit the many fun activities, including the volleyball games in which IOC and GAISF/SportAccord teams participated. AIMS General Secretary Mr. Zimmermann summed it up – “a truly memorable day and a great atmosphere which motivates us to continue in the Olympic Values” Cover photo: KEYSTONE/ VALENTIN FLAURAUD

Kickboxing in Santo Domingo de los Colorados in the Republic of Ecuador Organizer: WAKO Equador with the support of WAKO PANAM 200 athletes from 4 countries gathered in the city of Santo Domingo de los Colorados in the Republic of Ecuador, for the 2nd Bolivian Kickboxing Championship. The event was part of the agenda for the 50 Years of Cantonizing the city of Santo Domingo. The competition was held in the synthetic arena of the Arena Sport Sport Complex, on June 16, 17 and 18, 2017.              Friday 16th was reserved for the weighing of the fighters. On Saturday 17th, 82 fights were on the tatami, in the disciplines: Point Fight, Light Contact, Kick Light and on Sunday there were 28 matches in the Ring Full Contact, Low Kick, K1 – Rules, as well as competition in Musical Forms with Weapons and without Weapons. The participating countries were Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and the host Ecuador and competitors were in the divisions: Children, Youth and Senior.                    Once the event has ended, there was a positive balance of 0 injuries and the official results of the competition are: 1. Peru (Gold 43, Silver 08, Bronze […]

Kickboxing in Cape Verde, Africa On July 5th, kickboxing will be one of the demonstration sports during the event “Fight for the values” ,as the part of the celebration of Cape Verde independence day. Cape Verde is beautiful but very poor country, with lot of criminal problems, so the event will be for about 1000 children, with the idea to motivate to practice combat sports.               Such events are planned for teaching children that sport can be also the tool for social responsibility, for better environment, for helping children in growing up. Mr. Leonardo Cunha promoter and manager of the event, former WAKO Portugal official now living in Cape Verde and working in National Olympic Committee, was also one of the promoters of the Cape Verde Olympic committee project named M-Olympics, for gender equality in sports, mainly for encouraging young girls to join sports. Mr. Yassine Yousef with Mr. Leonardo Cunha, kickboxing enthusiast With cooperation with Mr. Yassine Yousef, responsible for the Olympic Solidarity programs of IOC in Africa, Mr. Leonardo Cunha is still working hard to popularize kickboxing in this part of the World!

BANGKOK, Thailand, May 31, 2017 – SportAccord Convention is delighted to confirm the official signing ceremony took place today with Host City ‘Bangkok’ for the sixteenth edition of the Convention to be held from 15 – 20 April 2018. The signing event was carried out at the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) building with Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord Convention, H.E. General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and witnessed by AIMS President and GAISF Vice President, Mr. Stephan Fox. “Hosting the SportAccord Convention in Bangkok enables us to reach out to all the International Sport Federations and those organisations involved in the business of sport to share our sports tourism vision as well as enabling delegates to experience all that Thailand has to offer. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is a key driver in helping to promote Bangkok and Thailand as a sports dream destination and sports hub in Asean, and these are some of the reasons why the SportAccord Convention is an important event for us as the Host City.” said Mrs Kobkarn. With state-of-the-art venues and a city brimming with opportunities and cultural gems, Bangkok […]

Exactly one year ago WAKO kickboxing has started the social campaign “WAKO WOMEN AGAINST CANCER”  which has started  in occasion of POINT FIGHTING CUP Tournament, in Castellanza (VA), Italy, on 1st and 2nd April 2017 and went on during Yokoso Duch Open in Amsterdam,  to promote PREVENTION as the main method fighting breast cancer and to support the clinical researches and projects of the Italian Foundation FONDAZIONE IEO – CCM.                        During the events some merchandising like bracelets, t-shirts and foulard, were sold with the only purpose to donate the funds collected from the sale of the products to support the project WOMEN’S CANCER CENTER run by the Foundation IEO – CCM. A great special thanks to the Italian referee Giulio Zucchetti who created and gifted WAKO nice pins to our campaign! Two Doctors of IEO (European Oncological Institute) were present during the events, and explained the activities of Women’s Cancer Center.                 Gazzetta della Sport (the most important Italian sport newspapers) on 31. march 2017 had a very important text about the campaign, which WAKO is very proud of.                         […]

Balkan Open 2017 held in Tesanj 05-06.05.2017 / Bosnia and Herzegovina.   Participation number  of competitors – 354. Number of clubs 71, number of countries 10. WAKO supervisor was Mr.Srđan Bugarčić from Serbia. Delegate Kickboxing Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr.Salko Zildžić. Chief judge Neđo Bratić,Bosnia and Herzegovina Competition held on 4 tatamis and 1 ring.                                     At Balkan Open participated competitors from Slovenia, Hungary,Slovakia, Croatian, Serbia,Lithuania Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Best team in the ring disciplines team Flek Tom-Cat Tuzla/ Bosnia and Herzegovina and tatami discipline the Team Masaru/ Bulgaria   The official results of the Balkan Open 2017 are at  www.balkanopentesanj.com        

The 2nd International Open Kick Boxing Tournament was held between 06-09 April 2017 in Turkey-Antalya. 700 athletes from 14 countries participated in the event in 1200 categories.                  The tournament was held at the WOW Kremline Palace, one of the best hotels of the world famous tourism city of Antalya. Tournament was appreciated by participating local and foreign teams, they thanked the organizer for the hospitality and the quality of the organization. Competition was held on 6 Tatami 4 rings and lasted for 3 days.              https://www.facebook.com/wakoweb/?ref=bookmarks

The world recognized Combat Sports and Martial Arts IF leaders convened for the Combat Games meeting under the leadership of the Combat Games Commission. The meeting, held on the 6th of April during the SportAccord Convention was hailed a huge success with the World Combat Games set to return in 2019 after the show of overwhelming support by the international federations. Commission Chairman and SportAccord/ GAISF Vice President, Stephan Fox reported that very keen and positive feedback was received from the questionnaire sent prior to the meeting, with the next step being the fine tuning of the event format. The Commission has received strong proposals from a number of bidding cities, whose representatives were in attendance of the SAC 2017, and the next IF Forum in Lausanne will see the next meeting for more decisions to be made. Mr Fox was quoted: “The Combat Games have held two successful editions already in Beijing and St. Petersburg and remain a valuable event for both Olympic and non-Olympic recognised Combat sports and Martial Arts. For the non-Olympic, it gives the athletes a great opportunity to be together with the Olympic athletes and for the Olympic sports, it also gives an opportunist to showcase some of […]

The 2017 WDF Europe Cup Youth will take place July 12 to 15 2017 in Malmo Sweden

On March 31, 2017, the “IFA Fistball World Tour“ is taking off in Porto Alegre, Brazil – a brand new global tournament series for fistball club teams, which will replace the current World Cup from 2018. In total, 101 teams will compete in 21 venues on five continents for points at the World Tour. The two best female and male teams, respectively, will win wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. This new, global series also enhances the value of the big club tournaments. With the long-term partner and fistball supplier Sportastic a first sponsor of the World Tour has been acquired. “The World Tour is a worldwide series of fistball tournaments in various categories through which teams can secure wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. In future, the two best ranked teams from the World Tour will compete at the World Tour Finals, along with the six continental champions from Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Asia“, said Winfried Kronsteiner, chair of the International Fistball Association (IFA) sports commission and initiator of the World Tour. The IFA will regularly publish the current World Tour rankings. MORE THAN 100 […]

Proud and happiness under the WAKO flag   Over the weekend of 18-19 March WAKO Oceania held its inaugural WAKO Continental Kickboxing championships at the Arnold Classics Multi-Sport event in Melbourne, Australia. Over 170 fighters competed in this event across all WAKO disciplines and fighters from across the Oceania region enjoyed 2 days of exciting competition in the Melbourne Convention Centre. The quality of fights was tremendous and visiting spectators were impressed with the WAKO style of Kickboxing.                                                                                              During the course of the event, the competition area was visited by Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger who sat and watched a demonstration by the WAKO Australia Kickboxing club Martial Energy. WAKO Australia Official Vanessa Jenkins and WAKO Oceania President Pete Thompson were lucky enough to get up close and personal with Mr. Schwarzenegger who expressed how impressed he was with the WAKO Kickboxing and in particular with the younger participants whom he encouraged to continue in their training and competition.                                          The exposure WAKO received during this event was tremendous, with the Arnold Classics Australia host to over 10,000 competitors and visitors from around the world the spectator numbers for […]

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, was confirmed as the host city for the 2018 edition of Sportaccord Convention during a stunning Opening Ceremony to mark the official start of this year’s edition in Aarhus. The announcement was made during a glittering opening ceremony at the Musikhuset, which featured culture, music and the performing arts, as well as speeches from the from the distinguished IOC President Dr Thomas Bach, SportAccord Convention President, Francesco Ricci Bitti,  and the Mayor of Aarhus, Jacob Bundsgaard. Bangkok – and Thailand as a whole – is renowned for the welcoming nature of this people, and the city is served by numerous international airline, with most countries offering direct flights. As the main hub for Southeast Asia, the city will provide a base for Convention attendees who are keen to explore a stunning part of the world.  Bangkok provides a multitude of affordable activities, with plenty to offer visitors in terms of culture, shopping and more. Commenting on the announcement, Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of SportAccord Convention and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), said: “It will be a pleasure to bring the 2018 SportAccord Convention to Bangkok, Thailand, and I would like to thank the Government of Thailand for supporting the Convention, which […]

AIMS President Stephan Fox confirmed that all 21 AIMS member federations will participate at the SAC in Aarhus. Some of them again as exhibitors. The many activities commence on the 3rd in the morning with the IWGA General Assembly and in the afternoon, the AIMS Council meeting. The 4th of April will see a busy day with the Annual AIMS Conference taking place in the morning followed by the AIMS General Assembly. The evening will have the Opening Ceremony, and the Convention will be opened by the IOC President Dr Thomas Bach, and a member of the Royal Family of Denmark. The 5th will be a full Convention day, with many meetings including the Combat Games Meetings. The evening will have the Joint Olympic Dinner hosted by IWGA, ARISF and AIMS, followed by a special cocktail reception of the 2 former AIMS federations, ICU and IFMA, that received IOC recognition in 2016. The 6th will be the ARISF/ WADA session where AIMS will be in full participation and the 7th will see the SportAccord General Assembly. AIMS wishes all the delegates safe travels to Aarhus and looks forward to a very productive week for SportAccord Convention 2017.

Dublin was again a great host of massive kickboxing tournament, unique in it’s quantity, quality and humanitarian work. Kickboxers from all around the World were again on the same trucks showing that humanity and sport raises under the same flag.                                    More than 4,000 athletes of all ages are taking part in the competition at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, which is the World’s biggest kickboxing event. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the ISPCC. In the past three years the kickboxing Irish Open has raised over €46,000 for the children’s charity.               Ms. Kristina Thuree from IWG speaking about equal chances for all involved in sport during Opening ceremony Except having active members creating numerous events and educative activities, WAKO organize and coordinate mechanisms to ensure gender equality, youth development, referee education, fair play, communication, social responsibility, solidarity, social and education programs for athletes present and future after their sport career. During this edition, WAKO representatives and fighters also got mobilized around the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace taking place on April 6 and accepted to participate in a massive way in the #whitecard campaign. The WhiteCard, a Peace and Sport […]

In celebration of the International Women’s Day, FIAS joined important global organisations in the United Nations Office in Geneva to discuss gender equality. One of the highlights of the day was the roundtable debate on the role of sports in promoting equal opportunities and women’s empowerment.+ Embracing the celebrations, FIAS also released in the social media a video dedicated to all women in the sambo community, who are actively contributing to the development of the sport worldwide. Women’s empowerment is a topic near and dear to the heart of FIAS, who has been working closely with the women’s commission and external organisations to advance women’s participation in SAMBO and foster an environment with equal opportunities.

The 14th Athens Challenge Tournament took place 04 -05 February 2017 at the Olympic Wrestling Arena in Ano Liossia.          Organized in association with WAKO and the PAN-HELLENIC FEDERATION OF KICKBOXING “POK “, Athens Challenge Tournament is without a doubt the biggest Kick Boxing event in Greece. Athens Challenge Tournament is one of the top 5 Kick Boxing events across Europe where each year athletes compete in Kick Boxing disciplines: Point Fighting, Light Contact, Kick Light, Low Kick, forms hard style, soft style, weapons and in Self-defense.                         This edition 2017 brought over 1220 European athletes from 12 countries such as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom, Georgia who were competing in 2151 entries. Only Greece had more than 1400 entries. The second in entries was Italy ( 271) and Bulgaria (137). Over 27 international referees from across Europe travel to Athens each year for the needs of Athens Challenge Tournament where along with 28 Greek referees they guarantee another successful event. The competition was going on 11 tatami areas and on one ring for low kick. The main sponsor of the 14th Athens Challenge Tournament was VODAFONE and sponsors were Zaros, Dole, Kayak […]

2017 Edition of Golden Glove European Cup brought much joy for the participants and for the promoters. The beginning of the year started very well for the WAKO and one more competition has been successfully finished. With 18 nations participating with more than 900 entries, this was more than a good opportunity to check  positions in the draw.                 As usual, the toughest competition was in point fighting seniors men -69 kg with 19 athletes in the draw. This can also be said  for the point fighting Grand champion men league in which there were 21 athletes registered. An amazing new format of Grand champion, made of selected fighters by the promoters, was called COMBAT ZONE. Each fighter was wearing a special t-shirt with a number and each “clash” was the first technique. Roland Veres was the winner for KZ men and Martina Rossi was the winner for KZ women.                            Italian TEAM BARRUS and TEAM POINT FIGHTING dominated in tag team male competition -74 and +74 defeating the strong TEAM KIRALY. Hungarian champion Veres Roland approved the title of the best fighter title on European Championships in Greece. He ultimately keeps the best position in point fighting -57kg. Moreover, in […]

Adding up to the current efforts to encourage and promote the female participation in SAMBO, FIAS has recently launched a video campaign addressing gender equity in sport. The video that carries the name “Who Cares About Women in Sport?” showcases examples of four women that have been making a difference in SAMBO around the world, both in and out of the field of play. FIAS Women Commission has helped to conceptualize the video, which aims to promote an equal sport, as well as serve as a reminder that women have been present in SAMBO across different functions for several years, thanks to all the skills and efforts they brought along. In only 24 hours, the campaign has been watched by more than 25’000 people on Facebook. Aligned to the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goal Number 5, FIAS is committed to keep taking forward initiatives and actions to advance gender equality in SAMBO. The chair of FIAS Women Commission, Mrs Monique Athanase, is now in touch with representatives of the International Working Group on Women and Sport to become a signatory of the Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration on Women and Sport.

Leinster and Irish Rugby International, Sean Cronin, officially launched the inaugural Irish Minigolf Open today at Rainforest Adventure Golf in Dundrum. The Irish Minigolf Open is set to take place on Saturday February 18th and Sunday February 19th in Rainforest Adventure Golf. Sean Cronin and both his Leinster and Irish teammates are regular visitors to Rainforest Adventure Golf, with Irish International Ian Madigan holding the best record on both the “Aztec” and “Mayan” courses in Rainforest Adventure Golf, followed closely by Leinster and Irish International Dominic Ryan. Sean Cronin, ambassador for the Irish Minigolf Open, commented, “This is a fantastic opportunity for people to discover the sport of minigolf and to learn and compete with some of the best in the world. It’s shaping up to be a very exciting weekend and I’m delighted to be part of it. Rainforest Adventure Golf is a fantastic venue to host the very first Irish Minigolf Open, both my teammates and myself love to compete on both courses during our downtime!” This will be Ireland’s first World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) event, with the competition set to attract players from across the U.K. and Europe. Rainforest Adventure Golf have also named Make-A-Wish Ireland […]

Yesterday’s Press Conference hosted by IFMA to announce and celebrate their recent IOC recognition was one that was watched by IFMA members, stakeholders, muaythai fans and members of the world sporting family across the globe. Both international and national press and media filled the Grand Ballroom at the Grande Sheraton Sukhumvit Hotel together with honoured guests, Ambassadors and Counsellors from various embassies, representatives from UNWomen, UNESCO, the Royal Thai Government and National Olympic Committee of Thailand, IFMA Executive Board members which flew in from around the world and leading members of the IFMA Athlete commission. The Press Conference kicked off with a warm welcome from the host Elizabeth Sadler followed by a presentation of IFMA’s partner organisations via a flag ceremony which told the story of IFMA’s past to present showcasing the various achievements from 1993 when it started with just with 20 National Federations to the present where it boasts 130 proud members. IFMA President Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan gave an emotional speech in which he reflected on the past twenty years and how IFMA had grown into “a valuable, recognisable, credible member of the world sport family – SportAccord, the International World Games Association, FISU, TAFISA, OCA, a former […]

Muaythai is a martial art and combat sport with over 1,000 years of tradition, but December 6th 2016 will shape the next 1,000 years, as muaythai was granted provisional recognition by the IOC Executive Board. In an official letter to IFMA President Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan, the IOC congratulated IFMA “on its achievements in the development of the federation and the sport…” IFMA President Dr Tapsuwan was overjoyed by the news which was the culmination of the work over many years by the IFMA to foster, develop and promote the Olympic values through the five pillars of muaythai: Honour, Respect, Fair Play, Tradition, and Excellence IFMA Sport Director Charissa Tynan stated “We lodged our intent to apply for the IOC recognition on April 3rd 2012 at a special gala event, handing over the letter of intent to IOC member CK Wu and former SportAccord President Hein Verbruggen along with our application to be included into the International World Games Association (IWGA) which was handed over to IWGA former President Ron Froelich. We received recognition by the IWGA in 2013 and in 2014 were official included as an official medal sport in the World Games. That was already a glorious moment for IFMA and […]

WAKO European Championships Greece Loutraki 19th-27th November 2016   From 19th till 27th November  2016  Greece hosted the European Kickboxing Championship for the disciplines: Point fighting, Kick Light, Musical forms and Full Contact .These days were fully packed with high-quality fighting, great fights, friendship, and fair play. This championship is the example of  the big positive development within the WAKO organization as a whole. For all participants, this was a great opportunity to join and be inspired for the future work.                    Full contact discipline female fight                    Kick light discipline men fight With participants from 33 countries, WAKO continues to show strength in Europe. With the participation of great, confirmed champions and legends of WAKO, fighters like Zsolt Moradi, Roman Brundl, McMenamy Robbie, Szabo Dorina, etc.  we had also the newcomers who attended Championships of Europe for the first time. This was certainly inspiring for all of the participants.   The promoter of the Championships, President of WAKO Greece, Mr. Mike Triantafillou has done a great job with his staff for realizing this event and he doesn’t hide his happiness for  bringing kickboxing  Championships back to Greece.                    […]

  WAKO  BECAME A PARTNER OF “PEACE AND SPORT” ORGANIZATION   Fantastic success has been made at 24th November 2016  for WAKO.                            According to the invitation of the President of International Organization “Peace and Sport” Mr. Joel Bouzou, WAKO President Mr. Borislav Pelevic  arrived in Monaco on 24th November 2016 for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which means equal membership of WAKO in this international sports organization. Founded in 2007, by modern pentathlon Olympic  medalist and World Champion  Mr. Joël Bouzou, Peace and Sport is a neutral and independent worldwide organization that is operational by using sport and its values as an instrument for peace. International organizations  partners of Peace and sport are Council of Europe, UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), UNOSDP (United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace) and EPAS (Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport). Peace and Sport work with the support of Government of Monaco, Mairie de Monaco and Tourist organization of Monaco.                                      Among 33 sports organizations which are members of Peace and Sport, WAKO found its place as a 34th associated  organization. World Archery, IAAF (International […]

The World SAMBO Championships were held last weekend in Sofia, Bulgaria. The competition that brings face-to-face the best sambists in the world is also a unique chance for the Sambo stakeholders to evaluate the progress of the sport in different continents and discuss future paths at the FIAS Congress. This year’s encounter preceded the very anticipated decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concerning FIAS recognition. In order to be aligned with the IOC’s agenda, the executive committee announced a set of changes in the organization. Among them, a minimum of 25% female presence on the Executive Board is now mandatory and the presidency term was limited to a maximum of three consecutive years. The national federations representatives also welcomed Canada, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka, who were awarded with FIAS full membership. Costa Rica and Macao joined this year as provisional members. Integrity and Fair Play One of the main topics addressed in the congress was FIAS efforts to emphasize the zero tolerance policy to corruption, match-fixing and doping. Not only that: the ongoing Fair Play campaign also targeted those who are the core of sambo: the sambists. An educational seminar was organized to athletes and coaches on the […]

November is a very iconic month for SAMBO. The sport celebrates two very important milestones: The World Sambo Championships, which gathers the best sambists around the globe and the anniversary of the sport. The 16th of November marks 78 years from the day Sambo was officially recognized as a sport and it has been a long journey until the modality born in the USSR’s army would become a high-level sport practiced worldwide. The martial art is now present in every corner of the globe: more than 120 national federations in all continents ensure the development of the sport, which presents itself as a very complete set of self-defence techniques, having the influence of many other martial arts in its conception. “I used to practice judo, but when I discovered SAMBO with my coach I liked it much better, because it offers a bigger variety of techniques”, said Leidy Suárez, a 19-year old Colombian sambist who participated in the World Sambo Championships for the first time this year. Leidy was one of the youngest amongst the more than 450 athletes that disembarked in Sofia last week for the three-day competition. All of them had the same goal: bring home one of […]

WHO IS GOING TO WROCLAW 2017? WAKO European Championship (K1 Rules, Low Kick, Light Contact) is over and another great WAKO event came to an end. Next stop is Loutraki, Greece, where the second part of the WAKO European Championship, this time in Point Fighting, Kick Light Contact, Full Contact and Musical Forms will take place. In Maribor we had 523 kickboxers representing 40 European countries. Congratulations to all of the new WAKO European Champions, also to all kickboxers who succeed to qualify for the IWGA World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. The most successful nation is Russian Federation followed by Serbia, Poland, Turkey and Italy. During Championship WAKO Europe had a pleasure to host Mr Janez Kocijancic,  European Olympic Committee Acting President, who was very satisfied with organization and level of the competition. During his visit Mr Kocijancic had a meeting with Mr Roy Baker, WAKO Europe Acting President and Mr Borislav Pelevic, WAKO IF President. The main issue of the meeting was the inclusion of kickboxing in the next edition of European Games which will be held in Minsk, Belarus. Opening ceremony of the Championship was spectacular with presence of many important guests from sports establishment such as […]

It was a truly auspicious night at the IOC 2016 Awards Women in Sport, honouring outstanding individuals in their contribution towards women in sports. The Awards were introduced in 2000 to recognise the outstanding achievements and contributions of those who promote gender equality in sport. For the first time in history, the  IOC gave it’s top award the IOC Women and Sport World Trophy to a man – Ethiopian journalist Dagim Zinabu Tekle who founded the Lisan Women’s Sport Radio Programme, dedicated to inspiring women and girls to be more active in sport and to pursue their goals and dreams. Tekle said in an IOC statement Monday. “I created this show because I realized that in Ethiopia, women have no voice, and they are not heard.” The five continental awards were: Africa – Felicite Rwemarika (Rwanda); Americas – Carole Oglesby (United States); Asia – Maria Leonor Estampador (Philippines); Europe – Majken Gilmartin (Denmark); Oceania – Moya Dodd (Australia). AIMS President, Mr Fox along was among the sport dignitaries that attended the event to honour the outstanding men and women. It was a night of inspiration and well deserved appreciation. Read more about the awards night on the official press release – IOC AWARDS 2016 WOMEN AND SPORT TROPHIES

On the fourth day of the IFA 2016 Fistball Women’s World Championship we saw two semifinal matches and two matches to determine the fifth, sixth and seventh places in the tournament, respectively. The players and fans were fortunate to have excellent weather, and we witnessed a great atmosphere. Playing on home turf, the Brazilian team delivered an excellent performance in the semifinal match against Switzerland, and scored a clear victory (3:0). In the second semifinal match, defending champion Germany played versus the tournament’s surprise team Chile which had managed to qualify for the semifinals for the first time in their World Championship history. The German team advanced to tomorrow’s final in a confident manner where it is now facing Brazil. Switzerland and Chile will play for the Bronze medal. Team Austria compensated for its disappointment of not qualifying for the semifinals with a clear victory over Australia. The Argentinian team, on place six after the preliminary round, also won over Australia. The Australian team hence finishes the tournament on the seventh place. As they return home, the Australian players take with them the invaluable experiences they have gathered from game to game and the many friendships they have won. Austria […]

Large and small tricolor flags, a single blue and white uniform with the word “France” on the back, the incredibly loud support of its members, an impressive number of various medals, and of course, a choir singing La Marseillaise during the awards ceremony.

The Fair Play award ceremony took place on October 15 in Budapest, Hungary. Belarusian sambist Stepan Popov was awarded a special diploma for gallantry during competitions at the 2015 European Games in Baku. The hero talked about the ceremony in an exclusive interview with the FIAS website.

During the General Assembly of the International Fair Play Committee, conducted in Budapest on October 15th 2016, WAKO became officially included in the International Fair Play Committee, CIFP. CIFP, an organization recognized by IOC, is the worldwide organization with the aim of defensing and promotion fair play. WAKO IF President, Mr. Borislav Pelevic says: “The WAKO gets inspired by the idea of the Fair Play and wants in all aspects to focus on the athletes and to act preventive. Observing the worldwide development within sports, we experience that credibility is at stake on many levels. Education is everything and the WAKO wants to strengthen its effort to promote Fair Play as an important educative tool within our movement. Our objective is that Fair Play will be a natural part of the behavior through activities, using best practices, cherish initiatives and create involvement and understanding. Fair Play enabled through actions is not only important for our athletes but also important for our entourage. So, let’s have a goal to be best example using simple methods but yet creating important results”. Fair Play Committee President, Mr. Jenö Kamuti from Hungary, re-elected as President on the October 14th for the four years mandate, […]

The Open Asian Minigolf Championships were held in Yokohama, Japan during the weekend of October 8 through 10. The event had two categories of competition – one for those who are AMF members (the Asian Championships) and one for anyone who is a member of the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) (the Open Asian Championships). Within each of those categories titles were awarded for individual play and team play. In total, 56 competitors took to the lanes in Yokohama from 8 countries including China, Chinese Taipei, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, Sweden and Vietnam. Members from Korea and Iran were in attendance for the Delegate Conference that preceded the tournament but did not compete. Rain and wind hit the first day of competition but players and officials toughed it out and 8 rounds for the individual categories were played. In the Asian Championships, the home Japanese dominated as they won all of the categories except the female youth. Hisato Kondo won the male division by 3 strokes, shooting a 202 over the 8 rounds. All 3 strokes were made in the final round as he went tied into round 8 with Fuminori Itoh. The margin for victory in the female division […]

Just six months ago, the IOC signed an important MoU for AIMS’ provisional membership, in which AIMS and the 23 international member federations were acknowledged in their role especially in the fields of the development of sport and it’s promotion and support for athletes which are all very much in line with the Agenda 2020 and the vision of the IOC, especially the IOC President. History was made again, with the IOC President Dr Thomas Bach, visiting 2 AIMS member sports, Ju-Jitsu and Muaythai at the Asian Beach Games in Da Nang. Ju-Jitsu President, Mr Theodoropoulos, who is also the AIMS Vice President thanked the IOC president and the honour given to the sport and especially the athletes. AIMS President, Stephan Fox  thanked the IOC president in person, as it was more than just a gesture, it truly showed that the IOC and its president has not just opened the doors for non-Olympic recognised sports but has given support to AIMS and all it’s members that are in full compliance in all respect with the Olympic Charter and Values. The presence of the IOC leadership, especially the president was the perfect motivation for all the athletes as much in their […]

K-1 ARENA One could almost touch the energy in the air. Two days on  four rings more than 300 fighters were seeking for the victory in the Arena Sparta in Prague. It was the tournament  in the WAKO K-1 discipline – the strongest, the toughest. The level of Adrenalin was extremely high. Many of the fighters entered in the fights seeking for the KO. Unpredictable and interesting fights, fights without a compromise. Two days there was a live stream on the Czech full contact Union web site. Congratulations to the organizer for the fantastic tournament.   Jan Frana, Czech full contact union Vice president, representing the organizer: “One division K-1 is enough to fulfill the expectations for the good fights. We have here all age divisions: cadets, juniors, seniors, female and men, and all weight divisions. With more than 300 entries, we have four rings and fights two days with Gala night show with all senior final fights with one fight in Pro for the title.  I can tell that we can be satisfied with the good tournament and  good quality of the fighters from 20 countries. Many teams came here with the national  team selection so we have here […]

BEAUTIFUL WAKO YOUTH There were eight days enjoying kickboxing in Dublin, City West Conventional  center. World championships for the youngest categories in WAKO  were the real celebration of life. Sporthall and hotel were full of young smiling faces,full of laugh,  it was an explosion of the emotions in the arena where fights were the reasons of many joy and many tears. These days WAKO can be proud of its young army of athletes  standing one by one under the slogan: one WAKO, one Champion. This year it was 47 countries from the all five continents  registered, with 1366 athletes and 1692 entries. The numerous number of athletes we had from Russian federation :142, Ireland, the host country : 139 and above hundred we had from Italy 111, Poland 123; the United Kingdom 83, Hungary 82, Turkey 67, Croatia 53, Greece 52, etc. This is a fantastic fact that one national team can count almost above 200 participants (athletes, coaches, officials etc) like we had this year in Dublin. ” The priority of this Championships is the youth, and that is of the most importance of the WAKO. WAKO has put a very big focus on the children, the foundation of […]

Turkey On September 14, a working meeting on the development of SAMBO for the visually impaired in Turkey was held in the office of the International SAMBO Federation. Roman Novikov, the Head of the Commission on SAMBO Development for the Blind and Visually Impaired at the Russian SAMBO Federation shared his experience of the organization’s work with physically challenged athletes with Gadir Mamedov, President of the Turkish Sport-Combat Sambo Federation. They also raised the question of the development of demo SAMBO for wrestlers with musculoskeletal system disorders, and the details and nuances of this direction were clarified by Natalya Novikova, the President of the Blind SAMBO Foundation. The result of the meeting was a decision to set up a commission for visually impaired athletes at the Turkish Sport-Combat Sambo Federation. Republic of Crimea A heroic act by Anatoly Krapolev, the Head of the Regional Commission for SAMBO Development for the Blind and Visually Impaired at the Sambo and Judo Federation of the Republic of Crimea, is an example to follow! Anatoly, despite his poor eyesight, rushed to the aid of people in a burning building. The blaze was caused by a short circuit due to supply disruption. Six families were […]

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival held in Davao City, Philippines, when people give thanks for an abundant harvest from the land, the rivers and the sea. Kadayawan is considered one of the most spectacular and famous festivals in the Philippines. Traditionally, it lasts for one week in August, but various events may go on for more than a month. One such event was a Sambo tournament that took place on September 10 during the Kadayawan Festival.

The beautiful city of Cheong Ju in the Republic of Korea was the venue for the World Martial Arts Masterships with 17 martial arts coming together in the spirit of combat sport, friendship and sporting and cultural exchange. 5 of the 7 AIMS member martial arts took part at these Cheong Ju Martial Arts Masterships, with the opening being a world class show. His Excellency the Governor of Chungcheongbuk-do Province and chairman of the event Mr Lee made an emotional speech on the spirit of martial arts, unity and diversity. The General Secretary of the United Nations Mr Ban Ki-Moon delivered a surprise speech on the power of sport and the contribution sport makes towards world peace. AIMS president and IFMA General Secretary Stephan Fox delivered a heartful speech thanking the city of Cheong Ju for hosting this event, the Governor for inviting all the athletes to this beautiful part of the world and addressing the athletes as the ambassadors stating that peace begins with a smile and that our athletes are the example of this. The stage was open for 7 days of cultural and sporting exchange.