Every four years, in the seasons following the Olympics, the world’s best athletes pursue their quest for excellence by participating in The World Games. The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-governmental and non-profit-making international organization constituted under Swiss law and founded in 1981. IWGA is made up of International Sports Federations including the Federation Internationale de Roller Sport (FIRS), and it administers a multidisciplinary sports event, The World Games, every four years. These IWGA events aspire to equal and exceed the importance of the annual world championships that are organized by each federation individually.
The principal aim of the IWGA is to develop the popularity of the sports governed by its member federations, to improve their prominence through excellent sporting achievements, and to conserve all the traditional values of sport through the World Games. In the time since the founding meeting in Seoul, Korea, IWGA membership increased from 12 to the current listing of 33 International Sports Federations (IFS). For IFS to become a Member of the IWGA, their up-to-date membership with SportAccord (formerly General Association of International Sports Federations - GAISF) is required. The IWGA is a member of SportAccord and is represented on the SportAccord Council. Another requirement is that all sports, or sports disciplines proposed by their federations for inclusion in the World Games are not currently included in the Olympic Games roster of sports.
In the year following the World Games, the IWGA general meeting elects a seven-member executive committee to a term of four years. This board coordinates and supervises all matters related to the World Games on behalf of the member IFS. The board's tasks include making recommendations for the selection of suitable host cities and serving as the permanent liaison between the IWGA and the games' organizers.
Part of the Olympic Movement
The International World Games Association is an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Affirming that IOC and IWGA share the same values of promoting physical and sporting activities for the well-being of society, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2000. In this MoU the IOC pledges to maintain its cooperation with the IWGA, to provide expertise and to help in the promotion of IWGA activities within the Olympic Movement. The IOC also grants its patronage to the hosts of The World Games and provides the Local Organizing Committees with technical assistance through its knowledge management programs. The IWGA is aware of the importance for athletes and officials in all sports to participate in The World Games as nationally representative delegations. To achieve that, the IOC encourages all National Olympic Committee to support and assist their multi-sport delegation taking part in the event.
More Than 30 Sports
By signing a cooperation agreement with the International World Games Association, the International Olympic Committee recognizes the important role the World Games play as a multi-sport event. This event provides participating athletes with the opportunity to join their countrymen and countrywomen from other sports, in the Olympic spirit, and compete as part of a national team at the highest level.
For athletes in over 30 diverse spectacular sports - including inline hockey, inline speed skating and artistic roller skating - the World Games are the pinnacle in the competition calendar, providing the common stage for their best athletes to aim for excellence and celebrate unity and friendship across all boundaries. As 4,000 of the finest sportsmen and women contest the coveted medals at the World Games, they present the very essence of their sport to the world at large. For the spectators, at the venues as well as in front of TV sets, the particular fascinations of The World Games are found in watching these athletes compete in sports of a kaleidoscopic variety that is without match in the entire Olympic Movement. Some of the 30 or more sports appearing here could be broken down even further, into different sports or disciplines of sports. To make this immense variety somewhat more manageable for the general public and the media, an effective auxiliary construct is applied by grouping the 30+ sports thematically. The World Games feature:
- Artistic and dance sports
- Ball sports
- Martial arts
- Precision sports
- Strength sports
- Trend sports
All these groups, sports, or disciplines of sports, do have one thing in common. They reserve the World Games for the very best. The best athletes competing in the best events. That is their pledge to spectators and broadcasters alike.
