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IF Seminars

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As a complimentary service to International Federations, The Olympic Capital organises a series of eight seminars directed at the different departments/activities within an International Federation.

These seminars are open exclusively to staff from International Federations based in the Canton de Vaud. Typically, they take place at the MSI from 9-12 and are followed by a light lunch.

Due to sanitary restrictions in light of Covid19, the first four IF Seminars of the year will take place virtually.

Please find here the dates for the 2021 IF Seminars:

• Integrity - Tuesday 02 March (Webinar)

• Communications / Marketing - Tuesday 13 April (Webinar)

• Member Services - Tuesday 18 May (Webinar)

• Admin / Finance - Tuesday 22 June (Webinar)

• Events - Tuesday 31 August

• Technology - Tuesday 28 September

• Clean Sports - Tuesday 26 October

• Innovation - Tuesday 07 December



In case you would like to receive the invitations to the seminar by email, please contact: danielle.honegger@lausanne.ch.

Please also contact danielle.honegger@lausanne.ch in case you would like to contribute to an IF Seminar as a speaker.

The descriptions of the 2021 Seminars are provided below.

  • Integrity (Webinar)

    March 2, 2021

    Sports betting in a post-Covid19 landscape: How can IFs protect their sport from betting-motivated match-fixing and how can they benefit from proactive and transparent engagement with the betting industry?

    “The International Sports Federations are responsible for the integrity of their sport on the international level.” This says the first sentence of the IOC mission.

    One essential part of any integrity definition is the common confidence in sports to produce fair and honest performances and outcomes.

    According to many publications, betting-motivated match-fixing and game manipulations are one of the main threats jeopardizing the above aspect of a sport’s integrity throughout the ranks: be it for team sports or be it for individual sports.

    And these threats are expected to be exacerbated by the implications of the global Covid19 pandemic, as many institutions are weakened, many activities moved into the less-regulated digital sphere and the focus of media attention has shifted away.

    However, the betting industry does not have to be a threat to sports only. Through proactive, transparent and controlled engagement, the regulated betting market can be an important audience and revenue driver for any sport.

    The only way to reap the rewards of betting without endangering its integrity, however, is to put measures in place that protect the sport in the first place.

    What does the modern, digital betting landscape look like? What is its potential? What measures do sports need to combat the threat of match-fixing? Where are the possible vulnerabilities? And what can IFs of different sizes systematically do in order to benefit from the regulated betting industry in a secure way?

    The Seminar aims at answering the above questions by providing technical explanations, practical recommendations on regulatory frameworks and hands-on suggestions on educational measures.

    Guest speakers:

    • Kevin Carpenter, Special Counsel on Sports Integrity at Genius Sports

    • Jonny Katanchian, Head of Commercial Partnerships EMEA at Genius Sports

    • Valérie Horyna, Special Legal Counsel at FIH

    • Benjamin Schindler, Legal Affairs Manager at FIBA

  • Communications / Marketing (Webinar)

    April 13, 2021

    Communications, marketing and fan engagement at Tokyo 2020: How can IFs best prepare their communications efforts to make the most of the increased visibility of their sport during the Olympic Games?

    For Olympic sports, the Olympic Games are always a very special moment in time. But the Olympic Games during the time of a pandemic are even more so.

    The Games offer every sport on the programme an increased time in the global spotlight: more spectators, more coverage and access to the so hard to reach ‘non-sport’ or ‘not-yet-sport’ audience. ¨ However, due to the sanitary implications of Covid19, this extra stage time will partially be disturbed by special restriction and regulations.

    Five months before the opening ceremony, the IOC, IPC and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee launched a series of playbooks that list a set of rules for different stakeholders (media, international federation, broadcasters, officials and athletes) to ensure having safe and successful Games.

    Some rules (e.g. wearing masks, no handshaking, no singing, no cheering and no high-fives allowed) will have a severe impact on the fan experience, as well as on the experience of any stakeholder involved. This means that, now more than ever, the appearance of a sport around the Tokyo Games in any kind of media ought to be well considered, well planned and well executed.

    That is why the overarching question of this upcoming virtual IF Seminar will be: How can IFs best prepare their communications efforts for Tokyo 2020 in order to make sure that the extra stage time around the Summer Olympic Games is used in an efficient and effective way?

    The Seminar aims at answering the above question by providing concrete examples and best practices both from an IF perspective, as well as from the perspective of a company specialised in sports marketing.

    With confirmed guest speakers from:

    • World Athletics

    • Volleyball World

    • Infront Sports & Media

  • Member Services (Webinar)

  • Admin / Finance (Webinar)

  • Events

  • Technology

  • Clean Sports

  • Innovation