Caps a successful IWGA Annual General Meeting for Flying Disc
The World Flying Disc Federation (“WFDF”) is pleased to announce that Disc Golf will be back on the competition program at The World Games in Chengdu 2025. As part of a packed agenda, the delegation from Chengdu 2025 presented their update for arrangements for the upcoming World Games and IWGA Sport Director Sebastian Garvins confirmed the competition program for the event. Disc Golf will be a medal sport featuring a 16 mixed pairs competition (32 athletes). The discipline of Ultimate was also confirmed for the program and received the same athletes’ quota as in Birmingham last July.
“After a 24 year hiatus, we are excited to announce that Disc Golf will again be a medal sport at The World Games, stated Robert “Nob” Rauch, WFDF President. “With the support of long-time board member Fumio Morooka, I had originally submitted our application to the IWGA back in 1994, and Flying Disc was first on the program as a medal sport in The World Games in 2001 in Akita Japan featuring both Ultimate and Disc Golf. With the tremendous growth of Disc Golf due to the pandemic, it is fitting to see its return to the program.”
Details on the exact format for the Disc Golf competition have yet to be determined as discussions are only now commencing with the Local Organizing Committee and the IWGA Sport Department.
WFDF is also pleased to announce that our Secretary General Volker Bernardi was reelected to a three year term on the IWGA Executive Committee on which he has served since 2018. In the other elections, José Perurena was reelected as President of the IWGA, a position he has held since 2014. The new Vice President of the IWGA is Tom Dielen, the Secretary General of World Archery, replacing Max Bishop who did not stand for re-election after 17 years in office. Lukas Hinder from Switzerland, Honorary Life President of the World DanceSport Federation, remains Treasurer of the IWGA, a role in which he has served since 1998. The other Executive Committee members elected were Anna Arzhanova (World Underwater Federation), Jan Fransoo (International Korfball Federation), and John Liljelund (International Floorball Federation).
WFDF President Rauch was also given the honor of accepting the awards for both TWG Athlete of the Year and Team of the Year on behalf of the winners. With 35,769 votes in the final round, in a vote that came down to the final minutes of voting over the month long process, Valeria Cardenas (23) from Colombia, secured the individual title. Valeria was a bronze-medalist with her team at The World Games 2022. In the Team ranking, the Flying Disc squad from Germany, having upset the top seed USA in the preliminary rounds and eventually coming in fourth at The World Games 2022, bested the competition with 13,262 votes. The IWGA had started the fan voting with 23 candidates for the individual title and 12 applicants for the team award. After the first round, the ten best athletes and the seven best teams went into the finals, starting on 22 January and finishing at the end of the month. All candidates were nominated by their respective federations, with the condition to be in the competition being participation in TWG 2022 last summer in Birmingham, Alabama.
