Sportaccord – 1,500 Leading Representatives from International Sport Attend…FIDE (World Chess Federation Among Them)

For More Information – Click Here to Visit the Sportaccord Official Website

(From Official Website:  www.sportaccord.com)

Sportaccord is a 5-day gathering of 1500 leading representatives from international sport.

The annual convention is held in a different country each year and encompasses the Congress and General Assemblies of over 100 international sports federations and their related associations. Its mission is to offer the sports community a powerful opportunity to come together on a global scale, in an exclusive and authoritative networking environment, to build relationships, share knowledge and develop ideas.

Sportaccord was created and is owned by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of International Olympic Winter Federations (AIOWF).

These federations hold the rights to scores of World Championships and other annual sporting events, make decisions on attributing the hosting of events to locations around the world and enlist commercial partners for their sports.

Sportaccord was originally launched in 2003 as a way for the Associations and the International Sport Federations to increase efficiency by holding all of their annual meetings at the same time and place, and also as a commercial platform whereby the sports industry could have ‘one-stop-shop’ access to all the world governing bodies and their key decision-makers. With this in mind an Exhibition and a Conference were created to encourage networking and knowledge sharing.

Since 2003, when Sportaccord took place in Madrid, the event has been held in Lausanne, Berlin, Seoul, Beijing and Athens, allowing attendees to experience the culture and hospitality of colleagues all over the world, and event-owners to visit cities and venues interested in hosting sporting events.

This year, Sportaccord takes place in Denver, Colorado from 23-27 March 2009. In 2010, the event will be in Dubai, April 26 – 30, 2010.

Sportaccord receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its President, who agreed to organise the spring meetings of the IOC Executive Board at each convention to date, and will also be in attendance in Denver in 2009. In addition to its Executive Board Meeting, the IOC hold their annual joint meetings with GAISF, ASOIF and AIOWF during the Sportaccord annual gathering.

Sportaccord is a convention unlike any other because it is owned and endorsed by the International Sports Movement itself. Over the past 6 years, Sportaccord Week has become one of the key fixtures on the international sporting calendar. But the event itself has now evolved into a Sportaccord Community…. a diverse group of people from across the sports spectrum, and from all over the world, who value this unique opportunity to learn, to grow, and most of all to share – not only their varied experiences, but the cumulative wealth of knowledge everyone brings with them to our annual gatherings.

Sportaccord also continues to develop offerings throughout the year – such as our new Sportaccord TV, the annual Sportaccord Yearbook and the Sportaccord IF Forum, held in November – intended to be reliable and invaluable resources for everyone within the sports movement.

Board Members – Presidents of the founding Associations:

Mr. Hein Verbruggen, President GAISF & Chairman of SportAccord
Mr. Denis Oswald, President ASOIF
Mr. René Fasel, President AIOWF
Mr. Ron Froehlich, Vice President GAISF

Steering Committee:

Mr. Hein Verbruggen, President GAISF & Chairman of SportAccord
Mr. Andrew Ryan, Director ASOIF
Ms. Sarah Lewis, Secretary General International Ski Federation & representing AIOWF
Ms. Christine Dominguez, Director General GAISF
Mrs. Anna Hellman, Executive Director SportAccord