The board of the International Canoe Federation has endorsed an inaugural virtual ICF competition as one of several important initiatives to drive the sport forward.
The board, meeting in person for the first time in more than two years, also approved a plan to ensure the International Canoe Federation continues to meet the objectives of the IOC 2020 +5 agenda.
The Poznan board meeting heard updates on the ICF’s Fit For Future strategy, which will be presented to the full ICF Congress in Thailand in November.
The board agreed to a new sustainability partnership which will allow it to continue to lead international sport in its commitment to lowering its carbon footprint, a public relations strategy focused on increasing paddle sport’s reach in Asia, Africa and the Americas, and to outsourcing its anti-doping program to the International Testing Agency.
“We are a very successful federation and have achieved success with changes to the Olympic program including the inclusion of extreme slalom in the Paris 24 program,” ICF President Thomas Konietzko said.
“We are a strong and committed member of the Olympic movement, and we want to stay that way and contribute even more to the success of the Olympic movement.
“We therefore have to adapt our strategy considering the IOC agenda 2020 + 5. We need to set additional priorities for our future.”
The ICF’s first virtual competition will involve a partnership with leading international paddle ergometer manufacturer, Kayak Pro from Miami. It will allow the world’s best athletes to compete online, pitting individuals and clubs against each other.
The sustainability partnership will take the ICF’s commitment to the environment to a new level.
“With the consulting company BOMOSA from Andorra and the cooperation with our partner Starboard, we want to set new targets and achieve the goals to which the ICF commited itself by signing the UN Sports for Climate Actions framework,” ICF vice-president Cecilia Farias said.
“This will not be possible without effort and will significantly change the processes and the face of our competitions.”
The ICF board agreed to wide-ranging measures to improve its presence in the three A’s – Africa, Asia and the Americas. The ICF will offer more live coverage of events in multiple languages, and implement a digital asset management system to enable access to footage for the wider canoeing community.
The decision to outsource the ICF’s anti-doping program to the International Testing Agency will enable the Federation to continue to be a world-leader in the fight against doping.
“In the context of the good governance discussion, this is an important step towards installing a truly independent system,” ICF vice-president Lluis Rabaneda said.
“The ICF Board has agreed to triple the funding for the fight against anti-doping from 2023 onwards. This is an important step for our Federation and I thank the Board for the additional funds released for this purpose.”
The board also received a briefing on the current research being done into transgender athletes, as part of the ICF’s overall Athlete Safeguarding and Wellbeing Strategy.
Following the briefing by Dr Shane Heffernen from Swansea University, the ICF board agreed to conduct a survey of athletes to determine an approach which will guarantee a suitable future policy can be put in place.
“It was so good to be able to come together again after all this time, and to discuss so many important issues about our future,” President Konietzko said.
“We are a successful sport, but we need to ensure we remain successful by embracing change. Our reputation as a world leader will be enhanced following the decisions made over the past three days.”
