Issue 100 - Centenary July 1997

1987-2007: Highs, Lows & Hopes

When I started as President of FISA about eight years ago, I established a strategic plan, setting the goals FISA should try to reach in the following years. This plan was approved by the Council and the Congress in 1990, published in FISA Info 1/1991 and can be used to measure what has been achieved and what still needs working on. I have divided the important items into 'highs' - those substantially satisfactory, and 'lows', which are those in which we have underperformed.

Highs

• The number of affiliated countries has grown from 67 to 103 with real growing activity in the new federations.
• Introduction of lightweight events in the Olympic programme with a motivation for a much larger portion of the sport population in the world to be interested in rowing and especially a big boost for our sport in some countries and continents where most people are small and light.
• Collection of second-hand boats, development programme and improvement in the level of the rowers on various continents.
• Inclusion of rowing in most multisport games and competitions (but entailing a lot of effort).
• Improvement in the quality of the television coverage (where we have coverage at all).
• New ways of working within the Council and commissions with a sharing of responsibilities and more contributions from the members. Very productive joint meetings of the commissions.
• Improvement of communication with member federations and the public through circulars, messages, FISA Info, FISA News, World Rowing etc.
• Appointment of 'rowing people' in important positions in national and international sports organisations.
• Maintenance of the basic values of our sport in spite of a lot of changes in sport and in rowing.

Lows

• Lack of universality. This problem will only be overcome if we increase the number of countries practising the sport as well as the number of rowers outside the traditional countries and get more participating in our World Championships, the Olympic Games and regional games.
• Conservatism, lack of vision and creativity, resistance to new ideas and priority for national interest rather than general interest of rowing from a large number of delegates and federations.

Hopes

• Reduction of the cost of equipment.
• More media and television attention.
• Sponsorship to provide the funding to improve the level of our competitions, to help rowers from all over the world participate in our various events, and to support our development programme.
• Make rowing simpler and easier to understand for the public and more attractive to young athletes about to take up a sport.
• It is well known that rowers are looking backwards and the past is certainly important to build the future. Therefore, for the next 10 years, we should work to keep and consolidate what has been achieved and work harder in the fields where we have not hit the target.
• In my opinion, the most important challenge that we are facing is to increase the universality of our sport, because it is the only way to reach some of our goals like keeping our Olympic status, being part of regional games, getting sponsors, etc., and because this can only be achieved if we succeed in a number of fields where we have not yet been totally successful, such as reducing the gap in the level of performances between the traditional and the new countries, reducing the amount of equipment, having a better and broader media, and recruiting sponsors.

© Copyright D. Oswald, 1997.