|
||
|
IFF Central Board meeting 2/2012 Place: Hotel Mikado, Nitra, Slovakia Excused: § 1. Opening of the meeting Mr. Eriksson opened the meeting at 09.00 and wished everyone welcomed to the CB meeting, in connection to the Women‘s U19 WFC 2012 in Nitra, Slovakia.
Mr. Eriksson concluded that there were three updated appendix, namely the
The minutes from the last meetings were scrutinized, approved and put ad acta.
a) Financial report by the 30.04.2012 (Appendix 2) Ms. Bakke reported that after one third of the year we are on a level of 35% used of the budgeted costs. The cash flow has been affected of the late invitation for the U19 WFC 2013, but the situation is turning slowly to the normal. Mr. King asked about what costs have been allocated under the cost place IOC Road Map. Mr. Kratz answered that there are allocated the cooperation with Sports Pro and the costs for preparations of the SEA Games 2015. The CB decided: To approve the report
Mr. Kratz presented the claims situation as per 30.04.2012 and the situation is under control, since a lot have been invoiced during the first part of the year, but also a number of debts have been paid. Mr Kratz also informed that Malaysia has started paying off their debts and their membership fee for 2012. Mr. King asked about the status of the suspension of Malaysia, which Mr. Eriksson explained that we need to return to this question later on the agenda. Mr. Suman stressed that he hopes that the implementation of the Licence System will help some of the countries which are increasing their debts to IFF in a problematic way and that the system will ease this situation. Mr. Kratz explained that there has been a change in attitude of a number of member associations and a large number has started to pay off their debts. Ms. Bakke presented a report of how to deal with the member associations which have a lot of debts to the IFF. (Appendix 2b) The CB decided: To approve the report
a) WFC 2012 Switzerland On behalf of Mr. Wiedmer, who had turned sick, Mr. Liljelund reported on the preparations of the Men‘s WFC 2012 to be played in Bern and Zurich, Switzerland. (Appendix 4) The preparations are proceeding well with-in the organisation lead by Mr. Kasser. The schedule for the event is under discussion, due to TV requests, as well as the technical exemptions for the group stage venues, where the Zurich venue has received the technical exemption. The LOC has secured the support of the Host Cities and the Swiss government and Swiss Olympic. Mr. Suman reported about the ballot for the WFC 2012 groups, during the Swiss Cup Final on the 3rd of March in Bern, Switzerland, which went smoothly and is the ideal thing to do during the spring. The match schedule was fixed directly after the group ballot in Bern, giving the LOC a possibility to start the ticket sales on the 9th of March. There are some issues with fixing the match schedule, which the RACC and the Office is looking upon. Mr. Liljelund continued reporting on the process for the securing a high level TV production. The IFF and LOC are in a discussion about the TV matches and their effect on the match schedule. IFF is still in need of the final TV offer for the production of the TV matches, Swiss TV has provided a preliminary offer, but the final offer is still missing, which is needed in order to be able to make a general offer to other TV companies and EuroSport. Mr. Beaudin asked if there is a plan of the LOC to use more English materials in their marketing, since the present materials are now mainly used in Swiss German, this especially important in the social media. The CB decided: To approve the report b) U19 WFC 2012 Slovakia Mr. Kratz reported on the preparations of the organisation of the U19 WFC in Nitra, Slovakia and how the event was carried out. There were a lot of actions to be taken by the IFF Jury and the personnel, especially in beginning of the tournament and the B-division was partly overseen by the organiser. There were a total of 6400 spectators, which was much more than the Slovak organiser had expected. IFF and the LOC had organised a web-TV streaming from all the matches, which worked well for the A-arena, but with some problems in the B-venue. Mr. Suman felt that it is very important that IFF now had a new country, organising a major WFC Event. It has become clear that the IFF needs to start checking the arenas well in advance of the Event, since the B-arena was not suitable for the WFC level. Mr. Suman continued that Mr. Vehniäinen, who as the jury chairman lead the event, made a very good job, having to act and guide the organiser quite a lot. Mr. Liljelund reported of the withdrawal of the Russian Team from the U19 WFC B-division due to the fact that it seems that the Russian Floorball Federation lead by Mr. Markov has by a Russian Court been eliminated on the 30th of September 2011, due to not having provided the necessary annual reports to the Department of Justice and the Department of Sport for the last 5 years. Based on this the Ministry of Sports have forbidden any official Floorball activities until a new Floorball Federation would obtain official accreditation from the respected authorities. Therefore there was no legal entity to send a team to the U19 WFC from Russia. (Appendix 5) Mr. Tjärnquist felt that it is very unfortunate that there are so many problems with the organiser and the venues in these Events, since it from an Equality perspective is important to keep the same level for the Women WFC‘s, as for the Men‘s events. Mr. King asked how the event succeeded financially and Mr. Suman had been informed that the financial outcome would be quite even. There has been a substantial support from the City of Nitra to the organiser and there had been much more foreign spectators than expected. The CB decided: To approve the report Mr. Stoll reported on the preparations for the U19 WFC 2013 to be played in Hamburg, Germany between the 7. – 11.5.2013. Floorball Germany is applying for organising the event one week later than the earlier IFF CB decision, due to a large Festival in Hamburg during the previous week-end. There will be a very nice A-arena in Hamburg, with 5000 seats in the arena and a perfect infrastructure for the Event. The LOC is still looking for a suitable B-arena, which would have the required facilities. Mr. Suman expressed that the date of the Event, will have to be discussed within the RACC and the CB, since this present timing is not ideal. Mr. Liljelund informed that IFF and Floorball Germany are ready to sign the organiser agreement as soon as the dates have been agreed upon. The IFF Office has sent out the invitation for the Event in the end of April. The CB decided: To approve the report and approved the dates of the U19 WFC 2013 d) New Organisers Mr. Kratz reported that the IFF has in accordance with its competition calendar system invited for applications to organise the Women‘s U19 WFC 2014 and 2016, the Men‘s U19 WFC 2015 and the Men‘s WFC 2016. The organiser for the WFC 2016 is to be appointed by the IFF CB in December 2012. IFF has received a letter of interest for the Women‘s U19 WFC 2014 from Poland and Singapore has shown interest for Men‘s U19 WFC 2015. Mr. Suman informed that the Czech CB is discussing the possibility of applying for the Men‘s WFC 2016. Mr. Liljelund presented the ExCo proposal for a waiver to be signed by any applicant of an IFF Event, as decided by the CB in its previous meeting. IFF has faced a number of organisers withdrawing from their responsibilities and the IFF needs to secure its position in the process. Mr. Liljelund further reported that the IFF CB needs to decide upon by which criteria‘s the evaluation of the WFC 2016 is to be decided. The applicant fills out a form in connection to the application. But the CB discussed the need to have a broader evaluation of the applications in connection to the WFC 2015 decision. Mr. Liljelund proposes to form a working group consisting of the IFF RACC Chairman Mr. Suman and the IFF secretary general to prepare this for the next CB meeting. The IFF has received the letter of interest from the Singapore Floorball Federation to organise the U19 WFC 2015 in Singapore. (Appendix 6b) The CB decided: To approve the reports and approve the Application waiver for members applying for organisation of IFF Events. Further the IFF CB decided to form a working group consisting of Mr. Suman and Mr. Liljelund to prepare a WFC organiser evaluation tool.
a) EuroFloorball Cup 2012 Mr. Kratz reported on the actions taken to find organisers for the EFC Qualifications for the EFC Final round 2012, which will be played in Kosice, Slovakia in October. There has not been very much interest for organisation of the qualifications, before there is a certainty that their respective teams are participating in the tournament. Hungary has shown some interest as well as Spain is investigating the situation. The registration for the EFC will end by the 31st of May and after that the qualification groups will be defined. The CB decided: To approve the report b) Champions Cup Mr. Tjärnquist presented the report concerning the 2nd edition of the Champions Cup, to be played on the 03. – 07.10.2012 in Umeå, Sweden. The partner organiser is the Floorball Club Dalen, which has been appointed quite some time ago, in order to be able to start the local preparations. The LOC from Umeå is supported by an event function of the Swedish Floorball Federation, which is coordinating a number of activities. The ticket sales for the final week-end have started in April, since three out of four Swedish teams comes from Umeå. All other regional Floorball matches are postponed during the Event, in order to secure as much spectators as possible and some seminars will be organised in connection to the CC2012. Mr. Suman pointed out that in accordance with the IFF Competition and Champions Cup Regulations the teams are entitled to train at the competition venue the day prior to the start of the competition. The CB felt that the organiser needs to take this into consideration before deciding on the travel system. Mr. Liljelund informed that the negotiations are ongoing with TV for the production of the matches. The Swedish Federation has not yet returned the IFF Champions Cup agreement and information related to the marketing, in order for IFF to be able to make the offer for the Floorball Manufacturers. The Swedish Federation has not yet signed the Champions Cup contract, but it will be done in May. Ms. Bruun reported that the IFF and the LOC has built the first generic IFF Champions Cup logo, which has been approved by the Champions Cup steering group. (Appendix 7a) Ms. Bruun reported on the preparation of a Champions Cup web page, which will be launched in beginning of June. IFF is still seeking for more input from the organiser, which has not given any feedback concerning the proposal for the CC web page. (Appendix 7b). The flow of information from the LOC has been a little problematic and the respond time has been pretty long. Since the basic idea has been that the web page will be operating in June, it has to keep in mind that it takes time also to realise the wishes from the organiser. Mr. Beaudin expressed that this system will enable to have one front door to the event and increase the traffic to one specific site, which will grow the numbers. Mr. Kauppinen felt that it is a serious issue of not having sign contracts with the organiser, if the organiser has started the preparations. Mr. Suman felt that the IFF needs to move in the direction that the organiser has a month to approve the organisation contract, after they have been appointed. The CB decided: To approve the report
a) ExCo reports Mr. Eriksson reported on the IFF ExCo meeting held in connection to the U19 WFC 2012 in Nitra, Slovakia on the 03.05.2012. (Appendix 8a) The ExCo prepared issues for the Central Board meeting. The CB had in a separate session discuss the ExCo proposal for the implementation of the IFF Licence System and how to work with the outcome of the IFF Associations Meeting, where the IFF CB decided that an IFF Association Audit will be organised in 2012, in order to continue with the preparations of a implementation plan. (Appendix 20) Mr. King reported on the present activities of the AOFC. (Appendix 8b). The Australian association has got a small set-back, after having been informed that the AFA can‘t become a member of the NOC, due to policy change. In general the development of the AOFC is proceeding in accordance to plans. The CB decided: To approve the reports and approve the proposal to conduct an Association Audit 2012. b) Contacts to International Sports Organisations Mr. Eriksson reported on the upcoming SportAccord 2012 Convention, organised in Quebec, Canada from the 21. – 25.05.2012, during which IFF will have a number of separate meetings with the IOC Sports Department, FISU, IMGA and SportAccord. IFF will also participate in the ARISF GA, the IMGA GA, the joint IOC EB/ASOIF meeting and the SportAccord GA and in a number of individual meetings. Mr. Eriksson reported on the status of the activities in order to have Floorball on the programme of the SEA Games. The Singapore Floorball Federation has been in close contact to the Singapore Sports Council and IFF has been in contact to the IFF members in the region. (Appendix 9) It is very good that, there under the umbrella of the AOFC, is a process ongoing in Indonesia for securing a participation in a possible upcoming SEA Games. Mr. Kratz reported on the IFF activities taken in connection to the 5th FISU World University Floorball Championships played in Prague, Czech Republic from the 22. – 27.05.2012, with 8 Men‘s and 4 Women‘s teams.The IFF Ofiice has nominated the IFF International Referees for the WUC, which are paid for by FISU. The LOC will use the IFF statistical system, where IFF is supporting with the management of the system. Mr. Suman gave a short report on behalf of the WUC organiser, the Czech Student Sports Union. The preparations are proceeding in good manners and the CFbU is assisting with the issues related to the operations around the field of play in the legendary Old Sparta Arena. Mr. Eriksson informed that the Singapore University Sports Council has now applied for the organisation of the WUC 2014 to FISU. Mr. Liljelund stressed that the IFF now needs to secure a broad participation in the WUC 2014 and that the AOFC needs to look over their competition calendar in order to secure the participation of as many regional teams as possible. The CB decided: To approve the report.
Mr. Suman reported on the RACC preparatory meeting held in Prague on the 23-25.03.2012, in front of the yearly IFF RACC meeting to be held in Prague on the 26.-27.05.2012. The RACC is preparing for the Competition seminar in August 2012, where the invitation will go out in May. The goals for the seminar are to improve the cooperation between the organiser and the IFF and to enhance the understanding of the expectations IFF has on the organiser. It is important to secure a big as possible number of participating countries, to the seminar. Mr. Suman reported, on behalf of Mr. Wolmhed about the IFF Rules Group has held its first meeting (Appendix 10) and has proposed that the only rule change that needs to be tested by the member associations is the rule allowing the reception of the foot pass. The IFF CB is to decide based upon the applications for becoming test nations, which are to test the rule change. The CB decided: To approve the report and decided that all Associations were given the possibility to test the receiving of the foot pass and report accordingly.
Mr. Botman gave a short report about the RC meeting held in Berlin, Germany on the 10th and 11th of March 2012, partly together with Floorball Germany‘s RC and the decisions taken there. (Appendix 11a) The meeting turned out to be a success and the RC will continue with this approach in the future, having a meeting together with a local RC. The IFF RC is very pleased with the operations of the International Development Group for the Referees. The RC proposes to nominate two referee pairs as new International Referees, Mr. Jens Christian Skrubbeltrang/Mr. Steffen Höjberg from Denmark and Mr. Sebastian Döring/MR. Steffen Kalow Germany in the general category, giving them possibility to referee both male and female matches, for the remaining time of the nomination period 2011-2012.
Mr. Liljelund reported on the IFF Floorball Development Program Seminar held in Suwon, Korea from the 20. – 22.04.2012, with the streams for Refereeing and Coaching. The seminar was conducted with the AOFC lectures, Mr. Ismail bin Sharil (International Referee/SIN) for refereeing and with Mr. Grant Mead (AUS Men‘s head coach) participating in the coaching programme, which was headed by Mr. Liljelund. The seminar was organised for club coaches, referees and PE school teachers by the Korean Floorball Federation. (Appendix 12) In connection to the seminar IFF had a meeting with Mr. Jong-Jun Choi the secretary general of the Korean Olympic Committee, concerning the KFF application for KOC recognition and a meeting with the FISU 2015 Gwanju Universiade secretary general Mr. Kim Yoon-Suk about the possibilities of demonstrating Floorball during the games. The IFF will organise a Floorball Clinique in connection to the Canada Cup in Toronto the 18.-20.05.2012, testing new approaches to conducting more tailor made educations for our member associations. The Dutch Association is still looking for a possibility to organise a Seminar in connection to an International Event in the Netherlands and there are some plans to have a Development Seminar in Indonesia still during 2012. The CB decided: To approve the report. f) Marketing function Mr. Kauppinen reported that the IFF Corporate Image for the IFF Events has finally been finished, after a long process (Appendix 13). The Corporate Identity will be used for the Major Events starting from 2013. The Core Marketing Network Group will in August define the guidelines for usage of the new generic logo and ways of evolution for marketing purposes related to the championships. Mr. King asked about the reasons for the change for the presentation of the IFF slogan “One World – One Ball”. Mr. Kauppinen expressed that it was for technical reasons and to secure visibility. The CB decided: To approve the report. g) Medical committee Ms. Bruun reported that the Doping control statistics for 2011 has been published and reported accordingly to WADA. A total of 531 tests were conducted in Floorball during 2011, out which IFF has initiated 84 tests. (Appendix 14a) Ms. Bruun further reported from the WADA ADO Symposium, which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland 19.-20.03.2012. (Appendix 14b) The IFF has asked for feedback from the previous Registered Testing Pool 1 (RTP1) players, on their views how it is to belong to the RTP and how it works. An article has been published based on the different opinions received. The IFF Medical Committee is to have its meeting in Helsinki on May 15th, in order to discuss present Anti-Doping and Medical issues, with the aim to create an injury assessment reporting system in Floorball. Mr. Tjärnquist informed that the Swedish federation has signed an agreement with the University of Umeå to gather information on the academic research done related to Floorball and to initiate relevant research. Mr. Beaudin asked in which way the Anti-Doping activity is rolled out in the member associations, since the testing during the event is very expensive for the Event organisation. Mr. Eriksson explained the basic system for how IFF has built the Anti-Doping testing in Floorball and that it is a basic requirement of organising an Event. Ms. Bruun and Mr. Liljelund further explained the different options for how IFF can secure the full WADA Code compliance and what must be done in order to fulfil the requirements. The CB decided: To approve the report h) Material function Mr. Liljelund reported on the meeting of the IFF Development Board held on the 23rd of March in Landvetter, Sweden. The meeting was called to discuss the presently burning issue of introduction of carbon fibre made blades in Floorball sticks, which SP has, with-in the present interpretation of the Material Regulations, approved in the end of 2011. The manufacturers are now preparing their proposals for tests methods to test this harder material for the blades. The process will continue during the spring and summer. (Appendix 15) Mr. King stressed that the biggest problem to enter a new venue, is that the venue owners are afraid that playing Floorball will actively harm the floor. Mr. Liljelund proposed that IFF would together with the four core countries conduct a University Level study of the impact of Floorball on Sports Flooring, compared with other sports. The CB decided: To approve the report and the proposal i) Athletes Commission Mr. Kratz reported in the absence of Mr. Stoll on the actions taken in respect to the proposed Game Rule changes and the letter sent to the Athletes Commission. The CB decided: To approve the report j) Equality function Mr. Tjärnquist reported on the activities of the Equality function (Appendix 19). A number of member associations, like France and Serbia have held their first female championships this season, i.e. moving towards the requirements of the IFF Licence System. There has been organised a discussion session on the development of female Floorball during the EFT in Karlstad, Sweden, in order to exchange information and share ideas of how to develop female Floorball further in the different countries. Mr. King asked if there has been an idea to build an Equality group like the Core Marketing group, for the more developed countries. Mr. Tjärnquist explained that the role of the Equality function is to see to that the Equality questions is present in all the fields of business within the IFF and is a responsibility for all functions. The idea of having a Core Equality group is worth looking at. Mr. Beaudin proposed to have code of equality for all the bodies of the IFF. The CB decided: To approve the report k) ParaFloorball function Ms. Bruun reported that both the ICEWH and Special Olympics have been in contact in respect to their upcoming events, which the IFF will be assisting in promoting and supporting, by using our social media tools. The Electric Wheelchair Hockey 3rd European Championships will be played in Nastola, Finland (June 4th -11th) and Floorball is a demonstration sport in the SO World Winter Games in South Korea 2013. Mr. Tjärnquist felt that the different forms of ParaFloorball are important to have discussions with the local ParaSport authorities. Mr. Beaudin commented on that the Canadian Deaf Hockey Association has been asking for contacts with other organisations. The CB decided: To approve the report l) Information function Mr. Beaudin reported that the social media penetration numbers are progressing in a positive way. The present status of the Floorball mobile application, which development is ongoing under the lead by the co-founder of the company Hockey Community, is now available in the App Store for Hockey. Mr. Beaudin will make a more detailed plan of the transfer of the Floorball related components into the Floorball App. There will be a news feed element included to this application. Mr. Suman asked who is responsible to providing the content for the mobile application. Mr. Beaudin answered that this would be an additional information tool, available on the mobile phone and that the application should be ready in a number of months. Mr. Kauppinen asked Mr. Beaudin to include an explanation of the marketing rights related to the application and the procedure of how sales rights are divided. Ms. Bruun felt that it is very important for the IFF that our fans can follow the IFF Events, competitions and news in the application and it needs to bring some additional value to the IFF stakeholders, compared to the present IFF offering. The CB decided: To approve the report and Mr. Beaudin is to write a report concerning the application before the 15th of May, 2012.
Based on this Mr. Liljelund has together with Mr. Philippe Renz prepared the statutes, in order to fully match the IOC recommendations and follow the main stream development in International Sport organisations. (Appendix 16) The major change is to adopt the IOC four year cycle and incorporate the Athletes Commission Chairperson in the IFF CB, which both are requirements on the IOC Short list. The other major change is the renewal of the IFF disciplinary and mediation system. The CB discussed some of the proposed changes in detail, like the move from two to four year mandate period and including the Athletes Committee Chairman into the CB. Mr. Tjärnquist expressed that the Swedish CB has discussed the move from two to four years and are not sure if that is in the favourable for Floorball, since that is a very long period of time in Floorball. The feeling is that we should continue with a two year mandate period. Mr. Kauppinen felt that a two year period is a very short time to learn the business of the CB work, so it would be preferred to increase the mandate period to four years. Mr. Botman agreed with Mr. Kauppinen that it would be better to work with a four year period. It would also be good to have a rotating system where half of the members are elected for four years and the other half first for two years. Then the members elected for two years would be up for elections again after two years, after which moving to a four year cycle. Also there is a need to discuss the question of a maximum number of mandate periods. Ms. Bakke and Mr. Beaudin supported the move to four years, in order to increase the efficiency of the CB. Mr. King is in favour of four years due to two reasons, firstly continuation and then possibility of focusing on the business ahead. Mr. Suman expressed that there has been a lot of discussion on the national level in the Czech Republic. The only disadvantage of the proposed system is that if a member doesn‘t contribute in the CB, the term is still for four years or that during this time the member might lose the connection with the national association. The advantages of the four years mandate period is the continued learning process and following the IOC structure are far more important for IFF. With a four year mandate period it will be easy to make even difficult decisions. Mr. Eriksson proposed that the CB approves the proposed changes for the Statutes of IFF and put them forward to the IFF General Assembly for adoption in December 2012. The CB decided: To approve the report and to approve the proposal for the IFF Statutes 2012, with some minor changes and put them forward for to the IFF General Assembly for adoption in December 2012. Mr. Liljelund presented the adoption of a new Mediation Regulation, which is prepared in the same process as the renewal of the Statutes together with Mr. Philippe Renz. Mr. Liljelund is further proposing that the IFF CB will approve the proposed new Mediation Regulation, in order to simplify the procedure in a case of dispute between the IFF and another party. The present formulations in the IFF Statutes and the Arbitration Regulations have become obsolete and would be very expensive. In the same phase the CB are to revoke the present Arbitration regulations and inform the member associations of the introduction of the new Mediation Regulation. (Appendix 17) Mr. Suman expressed that IFF could, by these new regulations, actually be the party acting as the mediator. The CB decided: To approve the report and to approve the proposed new Mediation Regulation, starting from the 1st of July 2012 and by doing that revoking the Arbitration regulation at the same time. Mr. Liljelund further reported that the work for updating the IFF Juridical Regulation has started, in order to be in-line with the proposed changes of the Statutes and the new Mediation Regulation. The Office will bring the proposal for the changes of the Juridical Regulation to the CB during the fall. The CB decided: To approve the report
a) Membership issues Russian Floorball Federation Mr. Liljelund reported on the present situation with the IFF ordinary member Russian Floorball Federation (RFF), which apparently has been eliminated from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, for failure to comply with the annual reporting rules to the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Sports. This was disclosed, when the President of RFF refused to summon a General Assembly of the RFF and a number of Regional Floorball Federations decided to conduct the GA anyway and then after having elected a new CB tried to register the changes. Mr. Suman supports the proposal made, in order to secure participation of the Russian teams. But there needs to be made a B plan for the WFC in Switzerland. Mr. Botman asked two questions of how the IFF has handled similar situations earlier and how to deal with the Russian participation in the EFC Final round. Mr. Liljelund expressed that the IFF GA will have to discuss the issue of the transfer of the RFF membership and that the CB would allow the Russian Clubs to participate in the EFC. The CB decided: To approve the report and the proposal and to give the RACC the task to prepare a B-plan.
Mr. Liljelund informed that the Floorball Federation of India has failed, despite a number of promises to respond to the questions put forward by the IFF, in relation to the present situation of Floorball in India. (Appendix 18). The FFI President Mr. Ansari had promised to answer by mid March and after a remainder in April, the FFI has still not responded in any way. After a discussion with the AOFC President Mr. King, we are now proposing to inform to the FFI, that the IFF interprets the non-responsiveness of FFI as a clear violation of its membership duties and will start the process to overlook the membership status of the FFI. The CB decided: To approve the report and the proposal. b) Members under suspension Mr. Kratz reported on the situation of the suspended association Malaysia, which has now started paying of their outstanding debts and stated that they are starting to comply. The CB decided: To approve the report c) New Member Applications Nothing to report
Mr. Tomas Eriksson ended the meeting at 14.25, thanking the CB members for a very good and productive meeting.
|
||
  
|
||
