IWF Constitutional Congress crucial to weightlifting’s Olympic ambitions takes place this weekend – Federation Focus

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Constitutional Congress this weekend is viewed as a last-ditch attempt to agree on a draft constitution that would allow the sport to retain its Olympic status.

Set to take place from August 28-31 in Doha, Qatar, the aim of the Congress is to get IWF member federations to agree on a new constitution that would satisfy International Olympic Committee (IOC) criteria for internal governance reform and anti-doping measures – both of which are necessary to keep weightlifting as an Olympic sport.

A draft constitution put forth at a previous IWF virtual Congress on June 30th was blocked from taking effect, with 55 member federations, about half of those present, voting ‘No’ on the document. The constitution would have, among other things, imposed tighter sanctions against doping in competitions, prohibited those with doping histories from serving on the IWF Executive Board, and instituted an upper age limit of 70 for Board members.

A subsequent attempt to approve a draft constitution “in principle” subject to future revisions also narrowly failed, signifying a deep divide between IWF member nations at the time on whether to change the federation’s direction.

However, a revised form of that draft constitution will be presented at the Congress in Doha this weekend, which has already been approved by the IWF’s Reform and Governance Commission and the IWF Executive Board. New revisions include increased women’s representation on the future IWF Executive Board and increased representation for athletes.

“Taken together, the provisions of this new Constitution represent a very significant improvement in the IWF’s governance, an improvement that would see the IWF ranked more favorably in the ASOIF governance survey alongside our Olympic counterparts,” said IWF interim President Dr. Michael Irani.

In a press release on Thursday, the United States’ national weightlifting federation outlined further amendments it was seeking to add to the constitution. One of USA Weightlifting’s proposed changes would expand the draft constitution’s upper age limit for the Executive Board to all IWF roles. Others would make those who have served on the Board or in staff roles for more than eight years ineligible to run in IWF elections.

“We believe these [amendments] together with the proposed constitution significantly strengthen the case for our sport to be in the Olympic Games”, USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews appealed to the Congress. “We call upon our leaders, and our fellow Federations to stop at nothing this weekend to ensure our future.... Please do not be the Executive Board that oversaw the departure of our sport from the Olympic Games.”

The IOC’s next Executive Board meeting is on September 8th, where a decision about weightlifting’s Olympic future is likely to be made.

GAISF initiates search for host cities of various multi-sport Games

The Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is currently seeking host cities for upcoming editions of several smaller multi-sport Games; including the World Urban Games, World Combat Games and World Mind Games.

The GAISF, an umbrella organization for sports federations and multi-sport Games organizers, put out a casting call on Monday for those interested in hosting the events. City representatives wanting to learn more are invited to contact GAISF Director and SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt at nis.hatt@sportaccord.com.

“We are delighted to open the host city selection process for future multi-sport Games. All of these events bring the best of sport to the heart of a city, while engaging with youth communities through inspiring initiatives to encourage greater participation in physical activity”, GAISF and SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli said of the opportunity.

The inaugural edition of the World Urban Games took place in 2019 and involved sports popular among young people such as BMX freestyle, breakdancing and parkour. A host is currently being sought for the 2023 edition.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was recently chosen to host the 2023 World Combat Games, which focus on martial arts and other fighting sports. The World Mind Games, meanwhile, features non-physical events such as chess, bridge and the popular Chinese board game Go.

Final Olympic qualification for men’s ice hockey underway

Qualifying contests deciding the final three spots for the 2022 Winter Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament began on Thursday, with 12 teams competing across three events in Bratislava, Slovakia; Riga, Latvia; and Oslo, Norway.

Matches will be played between August 26-29, with only the three winners of each group advancing to the Games in Beijing next year. Those that make it will join eight teams already qualified by their world ranking: Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, United States, Germany and Switzerland, as well as host nation China, ranked 32nd.

The competitions mark the end of a long and drawn-out qualification process for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that started in November 2019 and involved 44 teams in total. Final qualifying tournaments were initially supposed to be held in August of 2020, but had to be postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Women’s qualification events have likewise been postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the first round of women’s qualifying, also set to take place this week, had to be canceled by the IIHF due to a coronavirus outbreak in host nation Iceland. As a result, preliminary rounds will begin in early October, and the final tournaments for the Olympics will be held from November 11-14.

Federation Focus is presented by the International Weightlifting Federation. For more information on the IWF, click here.

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