Tuesday Talk - Hein Verbruggen on Expanded Multi-Sport Events

(ATR) For SportAccord president Hein Verbruggen, the future of the umbrella body for 105 international sports federations and organizations is bright following another year of strong growth.

The Dutchman points to three examples: the success of SportAccord’s integrity program toolkit to help members stop match-fixing in sport; its anti-doping services to aid federations' compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code; and the expansion of its multi-sport events.

After the success of the inaugural Beijing Mind Games in December, he says SportAccord has signed a contract with Beijing authorities for the next three editions to be staged annually.

"As far as these events are concerned, we are on the right track," he tells Around the Rings.

One of Verbruggen's pet projects is to give federations control of these multi-sport events without external entities influencing how they are hosted.

"We are promoting sports and new disciplines for members. That is something that seems to work," says the SportAccord chief, also an honorary IOC member and former president of the International Cycling Union.

"Strategically, it's very important the members understand that they are the owners of these events. If you look to sports like cycling where the major events are in the hands of organizing committees whose main objective is profit – very often to the detriment of the sport – they become very protective and don't want events in other countries.

"You are much freer and more flexible if you [the federations] own your own events.

"We are trying to organize these events. We help to make them important [on the global stage] and they are owned by members," he adds.

Verbruggen's mission is spurred by the success of the SportAccord Combat Games. A big hit with fans, the first edition in 2010 brought 1,500 athletes from 60 countries to Beijing for competition across 13 martial arts and combat sports, both Olympic and non-Olympic.

The second installment is slated for October 2013 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This time around, 15 martial arts and combat sports are planned with a cultural program rounding out the nine-day program.

According to Verbruggen, these events are about more than just sport, a trend he plans to keep going with the first Beach Games.

"We want a kind of festival idea around it that really promotes the sports. There is a lot of interest from our members, but we are reflecting now on the whole concept. We don't want to take any risks; we want the right concept ... is it sand or sand and water, and how many sports that has an impact on."

Brazil is the destination for the first edition – likely in 2013 – but no city has yet been chosen.

Verbruggen admits there is a danger of SportAccord becoming a victim of its own success. The first Artistic Games, combining sport and music, has been pushed to late in 2013 or the beginning of 2014.

"We have to be a little bit careful as we only have four people in the events department. We can't stretch it too thin," he says.

There are no signs of Verbruggen slowing down in the next year, despite his plan to step down from the presidency before the end of his mandate in 2015.

But asked about SportAccord's ambitions over the next year, he admits: "We need some consolidation. We have grown very fast from two people to 20 people. We have a very young staff."

Talking about other aims, Verbruggen says an ongoing cooperation and collaboration with National Olympic Committees is crucial to delivering the best results for his federations. The cluttered sporting calendar is one area that could use some work, he claims.

"We should talk together to have a calendar that makes sense, to have some more streamlining," he suggests.

With the European Olympic Committees exploring the concept of a European Games, a continental event similar in scope to the Pan American Games or Asian Games, serious concerns have been raised by some summer Olympic international federations and European federations about how this would fit into an already crowded calendar.

Verbruggen cautions that any new event "should first of all promote sport in general and individual sports that participate.

"If it is a good event that fulfills those two things, I would never say no... let's try it out, it might be good," he tells ATR.

"I don't see these events as competitive [to SportAccord-run events] as long as they give a contribution to the development of sport. That is a discipline we need to have. I am not against the idea of a European Games."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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