SIGGS evaluation tool presented and tested at European Athletics Convention

SIGGS evaluation tool presented and tested at European Athletics Convention

On 13 October, European Athletics organised a Member Federations Workshop in the framework of the annual European Athletics Convention which was organised in Funchal, Madeira. For this year’s Workshop, European Athletics decided to put good governance and more precisely the implementation of good governance by the national federations, at the centre of the discussions. With athletics at various levels going through a reform process, it was a call to their member federations to engage in the topic at national level as well. The Workshop sparked a keen interest among the national athletics federations as over 60 participants from 32 national athletics federations participated.

The keynote speech of the Workshop was provided by Alex McLin, former-CEO of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and CAS Arbitrator. McLin is also part of both the IAAF and the ASOIF Governance Task Force. Especially on the latter, he updated the participants on the recent developments in terms of principles, guidelines and tools for International Federations. His keynote speech was titled “Worthiness” referring to the need to build legitimacy as autonomy and the right of self-government can only be guaranteed when a sport organisation is governed well in line with sound governance principles. In this regard, he stressed the importance of introspection and regular self-evaluation as crucial activities for sport organisations.
Following the keynote speech, Curt Högberg of the Swedish Athletics Federation, provided the example of how one national athletics federation had dealt with the implementation of good governance. He also included a comparison with other Nordic athletics federations. One particular element that sparked an interesting discussion was the use of an election committee that is evaluating suggested candidates for Board positions and subsequently is providing advice to the General Assembly on these candidates.

As the importance of self-evaluation became clear in the presentations of these two speakers, Matthias Van Baelen presented the self-evaluation tool that was developed in the framework of the SIGGS Project and which is targeting national sport organisations (NOCs and national sport federations). Following this introduction, the participants were able to fill in the self-evaluation and consult their own Action Plan. In particular, the ability to get customised guidance and Action Plan, which is generated automatically and tailor-made to the situation of national federations, was highly welcomed by the participants.

To conclude the Workshop, Bill Glad of European Athletics raised the question on “what’s next” for good governance in the national athletics federations and how European Athletics can support the federations. In this regard, several proposals were mentioned including the organisation of similar meetings in the future building on the current results of the SIGGS self-evaluation. Finally, Jean Gracia, interim-CEO of the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) and Vice-President of European Athletics, urged all member federations to assess their strengths and weaknesses by using the SIGGS tool. He also stressed that this Workshop is the beginning of a continuous conversation between European athletics and the member federations.

 

Recent Posts

European Commission’s 7th Expert Group meeting on Covid-19 Sport recovery addresses impact of pandemic on sport and challenges ahead

On 23 March, the European Commission hosted the 7th meeting of the Expert Group on Covid-19 Sport recovery. The meeting gathered representatives of Member States and sports organisations who discussed the multifaceted long-term impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on sport. First, Floor Van Houdt, Head of the Sport Unit of the European Commission informed the […]

Read More
Sport organisations, Member States and European Commission gather for the 8th Expert Group on Green Sport

On 24 March, the 8th Meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on Green Sport took place in Brussels and online. The main aim of the meeting, which brought together Member States and sport organisations’ experts, was to review the structure of the forthcoming Expert Group Recommendations on a Framework for Sustainable Sport in Europe […]

Read More
European Commission launches #BeActive Awards 2023 competition

On 16 March, the European Commission opened the submission for the #BeActive Awards 2023. The #BeActive Awards 2023 are designed to celebrate organisations and projects that have thrivingly promoted sport and physical activity throughout Europe. The #BeActive Awards 2023  includes four categories: Across Generations award: this award, first launched in 2022, is intended to honour […]

Read More

Related Posts

March 27, 2023
European Commission’s 7th Expert Group meeting on Covid-19 Sport recovery addresses impact of pandemic on sport and challenges ahead

On 23 March, the European Commission hosted the 7th meeting of the Expert Group on Covid-19 Sport recovery. The meeting gathered representatives of Member States and sports organisations who discussed the multifaceted long-term impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on sport. First, Floor Van Houdt, Head of the Sport Unit of the European Commission informed the […]

March 27, 2023
Sport organisations, Member States and European Commission gather for the 8th Expert Group on Green Sport

On 24 March, the 8th Meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on Green Sport took place in Brussels and online. The main aim of the meeting, which brought together Member States and sport organisations’ experts, was to review the structure of the forthcoming Expert Group Recommendations on a Framework for Sustainable Sport in Europe […]

March 17, 2023
European Commission launches #BeActive Awards 2023 competition

On 16 March, the European Commission opened the submission for the #BeActive Awards 2023. The #BeActive Awards 2023 are designed to celebrate organisations and projects that have thrivingly promoted sport and physical activity throughout Europe. The #BeActive Awards 2023  includes four categories: Across Generations award: this award, first launched in 2022, is intended to honour […]

About us

The EOC EU Office is the House of European Sport, representing the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the IOC and other major sport organisations to the European institutions in Brussels.
CONTACT
crossmenu linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram