Tuesday, September 28, 2010

President's Report - September 2010

I took up my role as President of FISav 3 years ago; you confirmed your trust in me 2 years ago at the General Assembly elections.
I presented you with very precise objectives of which the most important one was to obtain membership of SportAccord (AGFIS). Many of you asked why no membership request had been made in more than 10 years.


This project directed my strategy:
To be an inclusive president:
- To call upon the expertise of various people,
- To increase the number of member countries in FISav,

To improve communication about Savate :
- To get Savate discussed and above all make this sport known by the leadership of International sports bodies,

To show Savate practised on all the continents:
- To Show that Savate is not only a Franco-French sport,
- With Official Championships in many countries,
- To put forward the perspective of an amateur sport, practiced in all our championships and sharing the Olympic values,

To show a democratic, transparent and well-structured FISav:
- With independent confederations, organised and democratic
- With all countries having an equal positon at the FISav General Assembly
To show a sport sharing the Olympic values,
- Highlighting the significant number of women and children practising Savate,
- Putting forward the dimension of an amateur sport, notably shown by the practice of assaut and canne,
- Putting forward the protection of athletes (our Ethic),

We have therefore worked for success:

We have presented an International Savate Federation which has modified its statutes to increase democracy: 1 country = 1 vote (2 if it is a founder member). Today, no nation can remain with the status of provisional member for many years.

We have presented Savate for membership of FISU, with the candidacy prepared and proposed by France, but presented by Belgium to show more strength in Savate.

We have shown that the latest European and World Championships took place in Turkey, Serbia, Spain, France, Russia and Croatia for Savate; in France, Germany, Reunion Island and England (2010) for the Canne. I offer my greatest thanks to the sports leaders who took on the organization of these competitions, we all know that the official Championships, and especially the big tournaments require a lot of money, time and investment.

We have communicated on the values of our sport,

Because I know that this victory belongs to all of you, of all nations, because I know that every action carried out in the name of the Savate by all of you has built this victory, assured our independence, and protects us from the global multi-boxing federations, I say thank you to those that followed from the beginning in this objective. With a special thought, shared by you all, for our secretary Madam Vérone Glennys who worked a lot on this project and who left our federation in April. .

In 2010, Savate gained recognition; she is free and independent… which we must hold on to.



I did not stop with SportAccord :
- I have, from the first meetings of the FISav, stressed the importance of using the English language to allow many sports leaders to express their view points,
- For openness and transparency, I have opened up the Board meetings of FISav to the people in charge of the affiliated federations.
- I worked to modernize and make the Savate uniform more accessible, while keeping our identity through the integrale,
- I have worked to enable the top athletes to fight with more media coverage and to have a longer career in Savate with the advent of the Pro Savate.
- I have worked for the creation of a World Championship for under 18 years, knowing that the quality of this competition brings the future the Savate.
- I have worked for the establishment of Savate in China, the last big nation not affiliated with the FISav. This work has given us the opportunity to make contacts who are close to the Chinese organizers of the world Combat Games. Savate is a demonstration sport in the world Combat Games 2010 (September) in China. Male and female athletes will go to show that Savate is a discipline ready to take a full role in the next world Combat Games.
- I have supported, although not my first priority, the actions for Canne de combat. I encourage the leaders to organize international Competitions, because the development and the media coverage of the Canne will develop through the big tournaments of Canne de combat. I think that a World Championship every 4 years is not sufficient to develop the Canne de combat outside Europe (where there is a big international competition every 2 years).


My actions can be summarized in these key words: SportAccord, FISU, Democracy within FISav, Creation of the continental confederations, Savate Pro, Modification of the uniform, World Championship for the under 18 years, First University World Championship, World Combat Games and creation of the Chinese Federation of Savate.


Actions for the future:

At the time of my election, 2 years ago, I expressed my wish to improve the training of the judge-referees. I remain convinced that the judges and the referees are the showcase of our values and the quality of our sport. I want a revision, with a national and international classification, of the referees, in assaut and in combat.
The first World Championship for the under 18 years will be judged, not on the quality of the athletes, but on the quality of the referees. They build the future of Savate.
They have an immense responsibility at each competition: being protective of the health of the athletes, the respect of the rules and ethics of Savate, and being just in their decisions.
If we want to be a big sport, the refereeing and the judgement must be perfect.

We must work on the consolidation of our administration and we must evaluate the financial needs of FISav to face our new obligations:
- The new memberships of FISav generate an increase in expenditure and work. The World Anti-doping Agency (AMA), FISU, SportAccord represent considerable sums, for the membership fees, but also for the expenses to participate in the meetings,
- The secretariat of the FISav must be renewed,
I took the not decision to replace madam Vérone Glennys after her departure because we must decide together what FISav will be in the future.
The president must work in a atmosphere of confidence, and communicate easily (place, language…) with his secretariat. The latter may be in the same country as the president.
My position is that the headquarters of FISav must remain in France for some years more, but that the president should, from now, be able to choose the place of his secretariat.
We must consolidate our participation in FISU,
We must show, at the time of our participation in the next World Combat Games, a perfect organization proving that Savate is a big sport.
We must help the championships (Africa, Asia…etc.) to become self-sustaining
We must continue to create competitions in the form of big Tournaments (Mediterranean, Balkan, Baltic, games of the Isles, Championships of the Arab Nations…etc.)
All these actions form a part of our desire to obtain Olympic recognition, which in my opinion is our direction.

In conclusion, I hope I have served Savate, even if my time is limited by working to support my family. Your vote on my past action will guide me in my actions of the future.

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