International Federations and National Governing Bodies: The Historical Development of Institutional Policies in Response to Challenging Issues in Sport

Abstract

Ian Ritchie Brock University aaa Historical accounts on the institutions that have shaped the history of sport (and sport history) have increasingly emerged in recent years. The main body of academic literature within the historiography of sport focuses on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Despite the IOC’s significance, international highperformance sport is also shaped by people and policies from outside the Olympic Movement. International Federations (IFs), National Federations, and other nongovernmental bodies are powerful stakeholders in the international sport system. The IOC first acknowledged the important role of IFs in the 1910s. During the 1914 Olympic Congress, IOC President Pierre de Coubertin hesitantly accepted that the IFs would be the main bodies to determine amateur rules for their respective sports. The IOC subsequently shifted eligibility issues to the federations; however, questions about the scope of IFs’ authority continued as the IFs believed their oversight also extended into determining the technical aspects of their sports. Fearful of a reduction in the size of the Olympic program, the French cycling administrator and journalist Paul Rousseau united all IFs under the “Permanent Bureau of International Sport Federation” in 1921, a forerunner to organizations such as SportAccord, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, and the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations. The Permanent Bureau arranged meetings between the IOC and IFs to facilitate dialogue and express federation needs. Yet the IOC and IFs continued to dispute the balance of power. During the 1925 and 1930 Olympic Congresses, IOC and IF members debated responsibilities with federations ultimately assuming