WFDF President Rauch elected to the Executive Board of ARISF

ARISF President Chiulli re-elected to four-year term

WFDF’s President Robert “Nob” Rauch was elected to the Executive Board of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) during its annual general meeting in Lausanne yesterday, prior to the commencement of the IF Forum. ARISF is a non-governmental, non-profit organization constituted through and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). ARISF’s 40 members are international sports federations recognized by the IOC whose sport is currently not in either the Summer or Winter Olympics, though becoming a member of ARISF does not imply or guarantee that the sport will be included in future Olympic Games.

Raffaele Chiulli (ITA) of World Federation of Powerboating was re-elected as President for another four-year term, edging out Anna Arzhanova (RUS) of World Underwater Federation. John Liljelund (FIN) of International Floorball Federation was elected as Vice President, and Riccardo Fraccari (ITA) of World Baseball Softball Confederation was elected as Secretary General, both unopposed. Rauch (USA), together with Arzhanova and Zena Wooldridge (GBR) of World Squash Federation, were elected to the three positions on the Executive Board from the five candidates.

Rauch’s election represents the first time a WFDF official has been elected to the ARISF board.

In addition to the elections, other business before the board included a series of presentations from various organizations including SportAccord, WADA, ITA, the Brisbane 2032 OCOG, and a personal address from the IOC President Kirsty Coventry. The President brought in specialists focused on the strategic plan areas including communication, a potential loyalty program, safeguarding, sustainability, and the preliminary results of a good governance review. In addition, there was a special tribute to honor Volker Bernardi, WFDF’s late Secretary General.

ARISF was formed in 1983 and is headquartered in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Among its aims are: act as a spokesperson to defend and coordinate the common interests of its members while maintaining their authority, independence and autonomy, determine the consensus of the member federations on questions of common interest in relation to the Olympic Movement, and ensure the largest possible participation in the activities of the IOC.

You can find further details on ARISF at https://arisf.sport/