Abbreviation ISF Formation 1972 Headquarters Antwerp, Belgium | Motto We Are School Sport Type Sport federation | |
Purpose Education through sport | ||
The International School Sport Federation (ISF) is an international sports governing body for school sport. Founded in 1972 with 21 signatory nations (all European), the federation has been organising international competitions to encourage education through sport and student athletes. It has 86 member nations from five continents. It is a member of SportAccord and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. It is based in Antwerp, Belgium.
Contents
The ISF limits itself to activities with school children between the ages of 14 to 18 (roughly contiguous with high school age). This distinguishes its role from the longer-established International University Sports Federation, which governs student sport from the ages of 17 to 25.
There are 25 recognised ISF sports, each of which has its own championship once every two years. They are called the ISF World Schools Championship (ISF WSC). The first official ISF championships were in football and volleyball, which both took place in 1972, athletics, basketball, handball and skiing championships followed a year later.
The foremost competition held by the ISF is the Gymnasiade – a biennial multi-sport event first held in 1974 in Wiesbaden, Germany that features athletics, gymnastics and swimming events. Among their other major events are continental games such as the Pan-American School Games, Euro Schools Football, Asian School Games.
History
Around the mid 1960s, international sporting contests between schools has been increasing. Besides occasional and haphazard meetings between two or more schools, tournaments were beginning to be organised regularly in different disciplines: in handball from 1963, in volleyball from 1969, in football one year later and from 1971 also in basketball. Each of these annual tournaments produced basic regulations and a standing committee.
The large number of international competitions requiring eliminating heats at the national level soon gave rise to a desire to co-ordinate these events, within a specific International Federation. To help promote this idea, the Federal Minister of Education and Arts of the Republic of Austria convened a Conference at Raach in the Autumn of 1971. Here the conditions were discussed for setting up a European School Sport Federation.
After very lengthy debates, the project was approved. However, bearing future development possibilities in mind, the ISF was not limited to European countries alone. A Provisional Committee, the members of which were chosen from among the 21 nations present, was set up, and the meeting of the constituent General Assembly was fixed for 4 June 1972 at Beaufort/Luxembourg. This meeting adopted the Statutes and proceeded to elect the members of the first Executive Committee.
Philosophy
The ISF aims to promote the school sport and to stimulate the establishment of national organisations of school sport. It rejects the interference of any outside influence on the national associations of school sport. It is ready, however, to respond to all demands of information and moral support. The ISF pursues these objectives without any discrimination on political, religious and ethnical grounds.
General Assembly
The General Assembly brings together ISF’s school sport federation members which meet every two years. In the assembly, members elect Executive Committee members for a four-year period, and approves the budget and the programme proposed by the Executive Committee. The most recent General Assembly was held in May 2016 at Marmaris, Turkey.
Management Committee
The Management Committee consists of the President, the Deputy President, the Vice-President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer and the Sports Director. It meets periodically when convened by the President, to carry out the business of the ISF between meetings of the Executive Committee. Twice a year, the Management Committee meets with the Continental Presidents.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is composed of 21 members. It meets twice a year to take the decisions necessary for the proper functioning of ISF.
Committees
Committees assist and advise the Executive Committee in the overall administration of the ISF. The Committees include: