IAAF Presidency Demands Total Commitment, says Bubka

Paris, July 6, 2015 - IAAF Vice President Sergey Bubka has pledged to become a full-time President of the Federation if he is successful in next month’s election in Beijing.

"It’s one of the biggest jobs in sport and demands the commitment and focus of a full-time President to ensure we maximise the potential of athletics in the years ahead," he said.

"I learned the value of having a totally focused President many years ago from the achievements of Juan Antonio Samaranch who was President of the International Olympic Committee when I first joined the IOC Athletes’ Commission. It was Juan Antonio who taught me that presidency of the global sport bodies should be full-time office job with full commitment".

Speaking in Paris, the city where he became the first man to vault 6.0m 30 years ago, Bubka said that his experience as an IOC member since 1999 would play a key role in developing the mutually vital relationship between the IAAF and the IOC.

"Athletics is the Number One Olympic sport and the Olympic Games is a key global showcase for our sport and its stars. Building on that relationship is critical to our future. As an IOC member since 1996 and Executive Board member for 11 years I know well how it operates and, with my many years of experience, I am well placed to operate effectively on behalf of the IAAF. There are plenty of opportunities to cooperate with the IOC including developments programs and grants on both global and local level – the latter is significant for our National Federations. I will also make my best to ensure athletics is placed well at the Olympic Channel".

Bubka underscored his determination to work in collaboration with member Federations to address the broad range of issues faced by the sport today.

"Of course we need to consider all of our options for making the sport more appealing to young people. We need to engage with them and get them involved as competitors and to create a new generation of fans who will pack stadiums and enthral massive TV audiences. It is our social mission to take the kids away from the street and provide opportunities either in sport or with sport as great part of their lives. That, in turn, will attract funding from sponsors which would be invested back into programmes to develop the sport through the Federations," he said.

"When I talk about my desire to bring more young people into athletics it is not just for the election. What youngsters think about athletics has always been important to me. I’ve been running the Sergey Bubka Sports club for more than 20 years investing from my prize money to provide the kids opportunities to go for sport and find their path of life through sport. And I am always learning from that experience and many others.

"We have to innovate to attract young people and extend the public interest in the sport. I am a great believer in taking athletics to the people by creating new types of events and holding them in accessible public places. This is something I have been involved with for many years through launching the ‘Pole Vault Stars’ Indoor meeting and running competitions at the Independence Square in Kyiv. Both succeeded in heightening awareness, stimulating interest and creating engagement. Another example is competitions near the Tour Eifel in Paris – they have actually been organized since 80ies, and the success of the recent event with Renaud Lavillenie proves we should move in this direction. Athletics competitions featuring great champions in the cities’ streets and squares provide unique opportunities to showcase the landmarks, iconic places and attract more tourists. The show events organized as the mix of professional and youth performance the day before elite international competitions will inspire young athletes and attract spectators for the main event – with our sport benefiting in both cases. We need to think and act innovatively across the entire spectrum of athletics to create new momentum for our sport."

Bubka emphasised his belief that the future of athletics worldwide is dependent on strong, active and effective National Federations and reinstated his commitment to launching Vision 2025, the biggest review ever taken into every aspect of athletics worldwide.

"Presidents and leaders of National Federations, key stakeholders like sponsors, media, broadcasters, managers, technical and medical specialists, will be involved. We will be shaping our future together. The future of athletics lies in having strong grass roots worldwide and it is the role of the IAAF and the responsibility of its President to ensure that.

"I see the IAAF as a service organisation and the role of its president is to lead that provision.

"But our member federations are each different in scale, capacity and capability. What should unite them is ambition and the IAAF should be helping them to achieve those ambitions.

"My presidency will be built on recognising that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to servicing federations. So we have to find out what our members really need and want to make them as effective as they can be in attracting and developing the athletes who will be our future.

"We will commit resources to devising individual development plans for all members and provide the funding and facilities and expertise to deliver them. National Federations need to be organisationally and financially sustainable and the IAAF is obliged to support them".

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