Since the last Governors Meeting the IFBA has been actively seeking more countries to register with the Federation. After a lengthy dialogue with a delegation from India, the Federation did manage to have India sign on financially as a member. Now it’s a matter of supplying information, equipment and resources for their broomball program and assisting to prepare teams for international competition. I will be reporting further developments as they happen and we hope to see representation in the near future.
By now you have seen numerous changes to the web site over the past year resulting from the IFBA commitment to increase communication with the membership and to allow for easier access to register for the World Championships. Congratulations to our IT connection John Dalgity, for the dedication he provided to ensure the changes were made in an orderly fashion, informative and user friendly.
The failure to establish a Coaching Program after the last Worlds in Minneapolis did create issues for future sport development. However, the IFBA Certified Level 1 Coaching Clinic program under the direction of Conrad Morneau IFBA VP-Technical will be introduced at the 2008 World Championships. The program will initially mirror the Canadian Broomball Federation Coaching Program to ensure candidates have training at a level conducive and recognized for International Competition. Those successful registered attendees at the first clinic in Vancouver/Burnaby will be added to the IFBA Coaches database. The benefit for attendees from outside of Canada will also recognize their abilities to provide clinics in the countries they are registered with. An IFBA Level 1 Certified Coach will be a requirement for Teams competing at the 2010 World Broomball Championships in the World Cup and Challenge Cup Categories. The Coed Category will be reviewed at the Governors Meeting in 2008.
It is important to note the success of the IFBA Officiating Program. Under the direction of Steve Payne, IFBA Chief Official, and in conjunction with Broomball Australia, the upcoming World event will see three Certified Australian Broomball Officials at the World Championships. This is a testimonial to the continuous support provided by the IFBA for the International Federations and will continue to develop to ensure officiating consistency at the World Championships.
IFBA Executive members recently completed the 2008 World Broomball Championships Site Inspection in Burnaby. The delegation found the Host Committee well prepared and ready to receive the number of participants for what is shaping up to be the largest World Championship event ever hosted. From the time the arriving guests touch down at Vancouver airport to the time they leave there are a number of activities scheduled to enable all visitors to enjoy the hospitality the 2010 Olympic Host City has to offer.
What the Executive found during the inspection was; in general Burnaby is a clean and safe city with a wonderful network of parks, recreational, and cultural facilities. Burnaby is one of the most beautiful cities in whole British Columbia. Being close to Vancouver, Burnaby serves as an important transportation corridor between Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the interior of rest of the Province.
The Executive inspected the registration/awards banquet venue and found it large enough to facilitate all the athletes and guests for both events. The intent on Monday night’s registration is to process all the teams from 5:30 pm to 8 pm and during this period set up a trade show/souvenir theme night. As a reminder, this will be the only night teams will be able to sell their souvenirs openly at the trade show. Cost for booth space will be posted. Opening ceremonies will take place at 8 pm in the same facility and the Coaches meeting will follow at 9 pm.
What is unique to the 2008 event are the ice facilities. The Burnaby competition facility has 8 arenas all under one roof easily accessible from the hotels. There is a large viewing area to all rinks and restaurant with wholesome food. The finals will be held in New Westminster not far from the Burnaby 8 rinks. This was necessary due to the amount of seating required for the final games. The Host has scheduled activities every night except Friday so all participants and guests will be kept busy during the “Broomball Festival”.
Athletes and guests using the Host accommodations will not be disappointed thanks to the efforts of Tourism Burnaby (Matthew Coyne and Mike Romas). The Hilton is the Host Hotel for the event located at Metrotown (one of the largest shopping malls in the West), and within walking distance of the Skytrain. The Host is also pleased to have Enterprise Rent-a-Car as the official car rental agency for the event and for those traveling in Canada by air, Westjet Airlines has committed to providing a 10% discount to all teams in Canada who use the identification locator QC 5523. The information for Westjet Airlines can be found on the home page of the IFBA web site.
The addition of the Men’s Masters Category was attempted in 2006 with disappointing results contributed to the registration in Minneapolis. The Executive decided to make another attempt and test the interest in 2008 to see if the category is viable. We are anticipating to expand to incorporate a Women’s Masters Category in the near future. The category will depend on the participatory interest. In addition to this, the IFBA is researching ways to have broomball a part of the International Masters Games. Having a strong Masters Category will make the application to Multisport Games much easier.
I am extremely pleased to see the Women’s Category with entries from Australia, Japan, Italy, USA and Canada, the most countries ever assembled in this category and it should prove to be a very exciting competition. The return of the Italian Women and Australia sending a team is very exciting and will show the IOC delegates in Vancouver the sport is viable as an Olympic Sport. Well done to all those who have made the commitment to Women’s Broomball.
For the Men’s side, the IFBA is please to have Australia, Japan, Italy, USA, Canada and Switzerland participating in the top tier. The goal to have 8 countries in the top tier is approaching and may be part of the 2010 World Championships. Due to the overwhelming interest in the World category, it was necessary to make changes in the Challenge Cup. Given the amount of teams signing up for the event, the technical staff found it necessary to break this division into Div 1 and Div 2. Details of the changes will be published on the web site.
The Coed Category for 2008 contains some very interesting teams and also the heritage teams who keep coming back such as the No Bull from the USA. This category has provided some strong competition and great entertainment to the World Championships and the 2008 event will not disappoint those attending.
During the past year the IFBA administration has been reviewing policy changes to the current IFBA Bid Policy, Hosting Policy and Membership Policy. The current policies are dated and much has changed since they were introduced to the membership. The IFBA VP–Operations Marc Desparois and IFBA General Secretary Pat Cunningham have worked on the project and ensure the Governors will be receiving copies to review prior to the event in Vancouver/Burnaby. Any issues will be dealt with at the Governors Meeting.
One of the goals of the IFBA is to continue the building program expanding further into Europe and Asia. We are optimistic progress can be made to have teams from Mexico, India, Germany, Russia, Finland and Sweden part of future international competition. We will continue to focus on China, Korea, England, Holland, Belgium and Poland to name a few. The IFBA is making progress but shortfalls in funding restrict advancement.
In closing, I would like to thank the sponsors who have committed to supporting the Sport of Broomball ensuring the sport maintains a presence in the international sport community.
Enjoy the 2008 World Championships and may the best teams win. Play safe and play smart and may your new found friends be many.
Yours in Broomball,
Rick Przybysz
President/CEO
IFBA |
