IF Seminars

How best can IFs distribute and monitor development resources to their members?

International Federations are responsible for supporting the development of their National Federations in several ways, including the provision of funding and a range of other important engagement programmes and services.

But with such development initiatives naturally costing resources, IFs must ensure that their distribution is carefully thought-through. If they are not delivered in an efficient and effective manner, the National Federation – and thus the sport – cannot truly develop.

So how best can IFs ensure the distribution of their development resources is well-grounded? What are types of support that IFs should be offering? How can IFs create an effective formula to dictate the level of support different members should get? And how can IFs ensure that such funding and services are being used appropriately?

This Seminar will look at some of the approaches IFs should consider when distributing and monitoring support to their members, hearing from speakers with different experiences of working alongside a group of members.

Speakers at this Seminar:

• Yassine Yousfi, Olympic Solidarity

• Pere Miro, FINA

• Mike Joyce, Andre Oliveira & Yoshiro Hirawawa, FIH

The Esports Phenomenon: What’s in it for IFs?

The growth of the esports industry to date has been remarkable, with recent estimates now valuing the industry at more than $1 billion, with more than 450 million viewers worldwide. Moreover, the rapid growth is showing no signs of slowing down. Esports, it appears, are here to stay.

With such incredible growth, especially among young people, it can be a natural concern for more traditional sports that focus and attention could be driven away from them – both in terms of participation and audience.

So how should IFs approach the esports phenomenon? Should it be treated as a threat, or should IFs look for new ways to incorporate esports in their provision of services? And, crucially, how can they look to do this?

This Seminar will look at the growth of the esports industry and the approaches IFs should consider in response to it, hearing from a variety of speakers with experience of working both in esports and the more traditional sports arena.

Speakers at this Seminar included:

• Ronnie Hanson, Burson Cohn & Wolfe

• Susanne Schodel, FAI

Protecting the health of athletes – What is the role of IFs?

No matter what the sport, athletes are at the heart of its success. Ultimately, it is athletes that attract so many followers to the sport, be it commercial partners, broadcasters or spectators.

However, throughout their career, athletes might be confronted to a sporting culture which may perpetuate situations of risk related to harassment and abuse, and which may have a negative impact on athletes’ mental health.

Nowadays, we are experiencing a time where both athletes and society at large are further empowered to speak out about these serious issues which were previously taboo or uncomfortable to address.

So how can IFs best prevent abuse and harassment and make sure to the mental health of their competing athletes is protected? What are some of the priorities and tools they should be looking for? This seminar will look at how best IFs can protect the health of their athletes, hearing from a variety of experts in the field, and discussions about the tools available to IFs in this regard.

Speakers at this Seminar included:

• Dr Paul Wylleman, Brussels University

• Kirsty Burrows, Sports Rights Solutions

What are the best ways for IFs to promote and implement gender equality in their sports?

The importance of promoting and administering gender equality is becoming more and more recognised in society as whole. Importantly, this also includes sport, with renewed commitments of sports organisations to ensure gender equality and fairness.

There is no question the sport landscape is changing. There are, for example, new IOC Initiatives around balanced participation for athletes and officials. We are seeing the growing success of the female game among fans and broadcasters for many of the big sports, as well as more directives from government funding organisations around the requirement to provide gender balance. Moreover, the latest industry research all supports the fact that there is a real appetite for the female game and a desire for females to play a greater role both on and off the field of play.

So how does your organisation stack up when it comes to gender balance?

Whether you are in the commercial department, human resources, events or communications this seminar is for you. Learn how others have achieved greater balance and moved their organisations forward in all areas of their businesses by embracing a balanced workforce and culture.

This seminar will be a practical ‘how to’ guide on steps anyone can take to help achieve better gender balance in their organisations. The seminar is designed to share learnings, practical steps and provide an open forum to discuss themes that are common across the majority of IF’s and provide helpful advice and problem solving.

Speakers at this Seminar:

• Raewyn Topp, Pure Purple

• Nadia Bonjour, Communications and Public Affairs Specialist

• Marijke Fleuren, EHF

• Sheila Stephens, FISA

• Richard Tattershaw, Sport Hit Factory

• Leyanne Jenkins, Sports Events Consultant

How can IFs prioritise environmental sustainability with their events?

With its global appeal and ability to inspire people from all parts of society, sport has a unique potential to make a true, long-lasting impact in addressing various social challenges. This is particularly prevalent with the protection of the environment, which is often seen as closely associated to the values of sport.

But with International Federations by nature having international events, involving a high level of travel and different cultural attitudes towards environmental sustainability, ensuring that such events can have a positive, lasting impact on the environment can be a major challenge.

So what can IFs do to ensure that their events promote sustainability and protect the environment? What are some of the projects and techniques that can be applied before and during the event to promote sustainability? And how can such events leave a lasting legacy on the organisers, host cities and spectators who attend?

This Seminar will look at some of the practices that IFs should consider when trying to make their events environmentally sustainable, hearing from a range of speakers with direct experience of promoting and implementing sustainability initiatives with sports organisations and events.

Speakers at this Seminar included:

• Geert Hendriks, Sport and Sustainability International

• Catherine Wieser, ICF

• Anastasiia Fomkina, FIAS

• Somesh Dutt, FEI

Protecting the next generation: What can IFs do to ensure that their young athletes are disincentivised from doping?

Prevention is better than cure – so goes the saying regarding treatment of diseases and sickness. The same can also be said regarding doping in sports. In theory, it is of course ideal to prevent performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) being considered by young athletes in the first place, rather than develop coping mechanisms for more senior athletes to deal with any doping issues that may arise.

But with so much pressure on younger athletes to succeed and ‘make it’, whether it be from their coaches, families or supporting governing bodies, young athletes are increasingly being exposed to PEDs. Indeed, a study in Australia of more than 900 junior athletes revealed that athletes as young as 12 have taken drugs, while over 10% believe that their competitors are doping.

So, with PEDs being exposed to an increasingly young audience, what can IFs do to ensure that very young athletes are disincentivised from taking such drugs, taking into account their age? How can IFs best prevent the normalisation of PED used in their sports, especially around their youth events? And how can anti-doping efforts among young people best be measured?

This Seminar will consider how best anti-doping messages can be developed and delivered to athletes at a young age, hearing from anti-doping organisations, IFs and those that work on a day-to-day basis with young athletes, on what has proven most successful in their experiences.

Speakers at this Seminar included:

• Laetitia Zumbrunnen & Raphael Rezende, WADA

• Olya Abasolo, ITA

• Simon Geinoz, UCI

• Jinwoo Mo, FIH

• Cecile Homberg, Cool & Clean Programme

How best can IFs communicate and engage with their National Federations?

The global nature of International Federations, with many having up to more than 200 National Federations, presents a wide variety of opportunities and challenges. In theory, a strong working relationship with such National Federations enables important developments to be made on a local level as sports seek to enhance their popularity across a diverse group of sporting backgrounds and cultures.

Naturally, being part of such an international operation also presents challenges of communication and engagement. By nature, the IF cannot spend enormous resources on working alongside each National Federation, with both time and finances being limited. IFs must therefore find the right balance to ensure their communication with National Federations is both effective and efficient.

So what are the forms of communication IFs can make use of to get in touch with their National Federations? With National Federations of such varying stages of development, how can IFs implement universal practices that work for all? And with forms of communication changing so rapidly with the digital age, how should IFs consider updating such communication and engagement techniques?

This Seminar will consider a variety of approaches available to IFs when dealing with their National Federations, hearing from examples outside of the sports industry, a case study from an International Federations on their approach, and the perspective of a National Federation, in an open and interactive format.

Speakers at this Seminar:

• Derk Sagaar, Interrnational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

• Emile Armour-Heselton, International Telecommunications Union

• Deqa Niamkey, United World Wrestling

• Veronika Muelhofer, Swiss Rugby