International School Sport Federation

The International School Sport Federation (ISF) is an international sports governing body for school sport. Founded in 1972 with 21 European signatory nations, the federation has been organising international competitions to encourage education through sport and student athletes. It has 134[2] members, from five continents.[3]

International School Sport Federation
Fédération Internationale du Sport Scolaire
AbbreviationISF
Formation1972
TypeSport federation
PurposeInternational School Sport Federation organises sport events for youth athletes of age 13–18.
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Membership
134 National School Sports Federations (NSSF)
Official language
French, English, German, Spanish[1]
President
Laurent Petrynka
Websitewww.isfsports.org

ISF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee since 1995, and is a member of SportAccord.[4][5][6] Its headquarters are based in Brussels, Belgium.[7]

ISF limits itself to activities with school children between the ages of 13 and 18 (roughly contiguous with high school age).[3] This distinguishes its role from the longer-established International University Sports Federation, which governs student sport from the ages of 17 to 25.[8][9] There are currently 45 recognised ISF sports, with many of them having their own World Schools Championship every two years.[10] Other sport disciplines are part of the Gymnasiade, also known as School Summer Games, its winter edition School Winter Games or ISF Combat Games.

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 featured athletics, gymnastics and swimming events.

In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISF stripped Russia of the right to stage the 2024 ISF Gymnasiade, banned Russia and Belarus from participating in any ISF events, and blocked Russia and Belarus from sending representation to the ISF General Assembly.[11]

History edit

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.[12]

In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISF stripped Russia of the right to stage the 2024 ISF Gymnasiade, banned Russia and Belarus from participating in any ISF events, and blocked Russia and Belarus from sending representation to the ISF General Assembly.[11]

Gymnasiade edit

Gymnasiade is a school sport event for youth athletes aged 15–18. It is held every two (even) years, hosts between 12 and 18 different sport disciplines and welcomes over 3000 pupils from all over the world.

Regional edit

https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/repositories/2/archival_objects/87332

First European Schools Games Caen, France 2–8 July 1992.[13]

ISF World Schools Championships edit

Around the 1960s international sporting contests between schools were on the increase. 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 from 1970 and from 1971 also in basketball.

Today 21 sports have a separate World Schools Championship (WSC) with 10-12 championships being held per year. Each World Schools Championship usually last from 3–7 days. Yearly, more than 10.0000 pupils from all over the World take part in ISF World Schools Championship. Until 2017, only 21 Sports have a separate World School Championship (WSC). Other sports exist in Games (Summer, Winter or Combat) and haven't separate WSC.

Number Event First Edition Last Edition
Main Sports
1 World School Athletics Championship 1973 24th (2017)
2 World Schools Cross Country Championship 1975 23rd (2018)
3 World School Swimming Championship 1991 12th (2017)
Combat Sports
4 World School Sambo Championship 2018 1st (2018)
Team Sports
5 World School 3x3 Basketball Championship 2014 3rd (2018)
6 World School Basketball Championship 1973 24th (2017)
11 World School Beach Soccer Championships 2023 1th (2023)
7 World School Beach Volleyball Championship 2011 4th (2017)
8 World School Cricket Championship 2018 1st (2018)
9 World School Flying Disc Championship 2019 1st (2019)
10 World School Football Championships 1972 26th (2017)
11 World School Futsal Championships 2007 5th (2018)
12 World School Handball Championship 1973 24th (2018)
13 World School Volleyball Championship 1972 23rd (2018)
Winter Sports
14 World School Alpine Ski Championship 1973 23rd (2016)
Other Sports
15 World School Badminton Championship 1998 18th (2018)
16 World School Orienteering Championship 1987 17th (2017)
17 World School Sport Climbing Championship 2019 1st (2019)
18 World School Table Tennis Championship 1991 15th (2018)
19 World School Tennis Championship 1995 9th (2017)
20 World School Triathlon Championship 2013 3rd (2017)
21 World School Chess Championship 2019 1st (2019)
22 World School Flying Disc Championship 2019 1st (2019)
23 World School Taekwondo Poomsae Virtual Championship 2020 1st (2020)

Source :[14]

Members edit

Code Country Association
AFG   Afghanistan Afghanistan School Sport Federation
ALB   Albania Albanian School Sport Federation
ALG   Algeria Federation Algerienne du Sport Scolaire
AND   Andorra Secretariat d'état aux sports, de la jeunesse et du volontariat
ARG   Argentina
ARM   Armenia School Sport Federation of Armenia
AUT   Austria Bundesministerium für Bildung und Frauen
AUS   Australia School Sport Australia
AZE   Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sport
BLR   Belarus Republican Center of Physical Education and Sports for Pupils and Students
BAN   Bangladesh
BRN   Bahrein Bahrein School and Collegiate Athletics Association
BAH   Bahamas
BEN   Benin Ministerio de Deportes
BOL   Bolivia Ministerio de Deportes
BOT   Botswana Botswana Integrated Sport Association
BRA   Brazil Confederação Brasileira do Desporto Escolar
BUL   Bulgaria Bulgarian Association Sport for Students
BUR   Burkina Faso
CMR   Cameroon Fenassco
CPV   Cape Verde Coordenação Nacional de Educação Física e Desporto Escolar
CHI   Chile Club Deportivo Universidad Catica de Chile
CHN   People's Republic of China China School Sport Federation
TPE   Chinese Taipei Chinese Taipei School Sport Federation
COL   Colombia Coldeportes
COM   Comoros Coordination de Nationale I'Education et Sport Scolaire
COD   Democratic Republic of the Congo
CRO   Croatia Croatian School Sport Federation
CYP   Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture
CZE   Czech Republic Czech School Sports and Clubs association
DEN   Denmark Danish Schoolsport Association
DOM   Dominican Republic Instituto Nacional de Educacion Fisica
DGB   Eastern Belgium Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft / Fachbereich Sport
ENG   England National Council for School Sports
GEQ   Equatorial Guinea
EST   Estonia Estonian School Sport Union
FIN   Finland Finnish School Sport Federation
FLA   Flemish Community Stichting Vlaamse Schoolsport
FRA   France Union Nationale du Sport Scolaire
CFB   Wallonia-Brussels Federation
PYF   French Polynesia Union du Sport Scholaire Polynesien
GAB   Gabon
GAM   Gambia Sport University of The Gambia
GEO   Georgia Children and Youth Sports National Federation of Georgia
GER   Germany Kommission Sport der KMK der Länder
GHA   Ghana
GRE   Greece Directorate of Physical Education
GUA   Guatemala Direccion General de Educacición Fisica
GUI   Guinea
HAI   Haiti Haitian School Sport Federation
HKG   Hong Kong, China Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation
HUN   Hungary Hungarian School Sport Federation
IND   India School Games Federation of India
IRI   Islamic Republic of Iran Iran School Sport Federation
ISR   Israel Ministry of education, culture and sports
IRL   Ireland Irish School Sport Federation
ITA   Italy Ministero dell Instruzione dell universita e della Ricerca
CIV   Ivory Coast Office Ivoirien des Sports Scolaires et Universitaires
JAM   Jamaica
JOR   Jordan
KGZ   Kyrgyzstan School Sport Federation of Kyrgyz Republic
KAZ   Kazakhstan Kazakhstan School Sport Federation
KEN   Kenya Kazakhstan School Sport Federation
KOS   Kosovo School Sport Federation of the Republic of Kosovo
KUW   Kuwait Ministry of Education, Kuwait
LAT   Latvia Latvian School Sport Federation
LBN   Lebanon Ministry of Education and Higher Education
LIE   Liechtenstein Liechtensteinische landesverwaltung
LIT   Lithuania
LUX   Luxembourg Ligue des Associations Sportive Estudiantines
MAC   Macau,China
MAD   Madagascar Fédération Omnisports scolaire Madagascar
MLI   Mali
MLT   Malta Malta School Sport Federation
MRI   Mauritania
MGL   Mongolia
MNE   Montenegro Association Montenegrine du Sport Scolaire
MAR   Morocco Federation Royale Marocaine du Sport Scolaire
NEP   Nepal
NED   Netherlands Koninklijke Vereniging van Leraren Lichamelịke Opvoeding
NZL   New Zealand New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council
NCA   Nicaragua Instituto Nicaraguense de Deportes
NIG   Niger
NGA   Nigeria Nigerian School Sport Federation
MKD   North Macedonia Macedonian Schools Sports Federation
NOR   Norway Landslaget Fysisk Fostring i Scolen
OMA   Oman
PAK   Pakistan PSSF - Pakistan Schools Sports Federation
PAR   Paraguay Secretaria Nacional de Deportes
PER   Peru Asociacion Peruana del Deporte Escolar
POL   Poland Szkolny Zwiazek Sportowy
POR   Portugal Gabinete Coordenador do Desporto Escolar
PUR   Puerto Rico Propulsores del Deporte
ROU   Romania Scholar and University Sports Federation
QAT   Qatar Qatar Sport School Federation
RSR   Republic of Srpska Ministry for Family, Youth and Sport
ROU   Romania Ministry Of Education And Research / Scholar And University Sports Federation
RUS   Russia Russian Socio - State Society of Physical Training
STP   São Tomé and Principe
KSA   Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education
SCO   Scotland Scottish SchoolSport Federation
SEN   Senegal Comité National de Gestion et de Relance du Sport Scolaire (CNG/RSS) - Sénégal
SRB   Serbia School Sports and Olympic Education Federation of Serbia
SIN   Singapore Singapore School Sport Council
SLO   Slovenia Zavod za sport RS Planica
SVK   Slovakia Slovak School Sport Association
RSA   South Africa South African Sports Confederation
ESP   Spain Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia
SRI   Sri Lanka Schools Sports Council
SUR   Suriname Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs
SWE   Sweden Svenska Skolidrottsförbundet
SUI   Switzerland Schweizerischer Verband fur Sport in der Schule
TAN   Tanzania
TUN   Tunisia Federation Tunisienne des Sports Scolaires et Universiateires
TUR   Türkyie Turkiye Okul Sporlary Federasyonu
TKM   Turkmenistan School Sport Federation of Turkmenistan
THA   Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports
UAE   United Arab Emirates UAE Interschool Sports Association
UGA   Uganda
UKR   Ukraine School Sport Federation of Ukraine
USA   United States Amateur Athletic Union of the United States

References edit

  1. ^ Charter Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
  2. ^ "ISF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021 GATHERED IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM".
  3. ^ a b Reaching new heights of development; 108 members from all over the world. ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
  4. ^ About ISF Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
  5. ^ Organisations recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
  6. ^ Members Archived 2013-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. SportAccord. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
  7. ^ Contact Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
  8. ^ FISU Today. FISU. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
  9. ^ Li, Ming et al. "International School Sport", pgs. 291–2. International Sport Management (2012). Human Kinetics. ISBN 978-0-7360-8273-0.
  10. ^ http://isfsports.org/sports . ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
  11. ^ a b "International School Sports Federation strips Russia of 2024 Gymnasiade". 2 March 2022.
  12. ^ "History of ISF". ISF official website. Archived from the original on 2016-07-06.
  13. ^ "ISF World Gymnasiade and European School Sport Games".
  14. ^ "World Schools Championship". 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2017.

External links edit