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Introduction Good governance principles of National Sports Federations (NSF) include the representation of athletes and coaches through commissions (PlayTheGame, n. d.). This representation has been an important issue in Switzerland since the “Magglingen Protocols” of October 2020, which outlined the abuses in Swiss women’s gymnastics. In response, Swiss Olympic and the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport have taken measures, including the representation of athletes and coaches within their NSFs. One year before the abuses became public, athletes, coaches and NSFs’ officials were surveyed regarding principles of good governance. The surveys comprised questions on their involvement in policy-making at national level and, in particular, the existence of an athletes’ and coaches’ commission within their NSFs. Methods Using the SPLISS model (Sports Policy Factors Leading to International Sporing Success) and respective surveys (De Bosscher et al., 2006), 1,450 athletes with a Swiss Olympic Card Gold, Silver, Bronze or Elite from 54 different sports, 734 coaches with a national coaching position and a professional coaching qualification and 122 officials from NSFs were surveyed via an online survey (Kempf et al., 2021). Results Around 990 athletes assessed their involvement in the development and evaluation of policy guidelines, of which 16% (n = 156) reported to be “very/sufficiently involved” in the development within their NSF, followed by 13% (n = 130) for Swiss Olympic and 10% (n = 99) in FOSPO respectively. Overall, 50% (n = 451 – 507) of athletes consider their involvement to be “insufficient/not at all” in all three organisations. The responses for the evaluation of policy guidelines were similar. Regarding the existence of an athlete’s commission within their NSF, 44% (n = 442) of athletes stated that there is one, while 35% (n = 351) did not know; respectively coaches for coaches’ commission: 30% (n = 129) and 25% (n = 108). Finally, 46% (n = 41) of officials stated that there was a coaches’ committee in their NSF and 30% (n = 25) for the athletes’ commissions respectively. Discussion/Conclusion The results show that in 2019, an important number of athletes do not feel sufficiently involved in national level policy-making and that a significant number of athletes and coaches are not represented by a commission within their NSF. Meanwhile, the findings confirm the need for improved communication, particularly in relation to the existence of commissions. As posited by PlayTheGame (n. d.), clearly communicating the rights and responsibilities of commission members is needed to improve coaches and athletes’ involvement. Further research could make a comparison with the current situation and analyse the impact of the measures introduced by FOSPO and Swiss Olympic since 2020. References De Bosscher, V., De Knop, P., Van Bottenburg, M., & Shibli, S. (2006). A conceptual framework for analysing sports policy factors leading to international sporting success. European Sport Management Quarterly, 6(2), 185-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740600955087 Kempf, H., Weber, A. C., Zurmühle, C., Bosshard, B., Mrkonjic, M., Weber, A., Pillet, F., & Sutter, S. (2021). Leistungssport Schweiz. Momentaufnahme SPLISS-CH 2019 [High performance sport Switzerland. Snapshot SPLISS-CH 2019] (2nd, rev. ed.). Bundesamt für Sport BASPO. PlayTheGame. (n. d.). Strengthening athlete power in sport. https://www.playthegame.org/projects/strengthening-athlete-power-in-sport-sapis/

BackgroundResearchers and policy-makers have highlighted that the potential for organized sports to promote health has been underexploited. Sports clubs have limited capacity to promote health due to their voluntary nature and have called for support from their national sports federations. The present article provides guidelines, based on the theoretical principles of health promoting sports clubs and an analysis of practical tools and proven strategies, to support national sports federations to invest in health promotion (HP).MethodsA qualitative iterative study was undertaken, based on five 2-h meetings of a group of 15 international researchers in HP in sports clubs. Notes and minutes from meetings, as well as shared outputs were analyzed based on the health promoting sports club framework.ResultsGuidelines developed for national sports federations to promote health includes a definition of a health promoting sports federation (HPSF), a description of how the settings-based approach to HP adapts to national sports federations, as well as practical applications of health promoting sports club’s intervention strategies. The analysis of existing tools also demonstrated that most tools are centered on a single dimension of health (social, mental, physical, spiritual or community), and often on a specific health topic. Furthermore, they do not cover HP as a continuous long-lasting process, but are generally short-term programs. The HPSF clarifies theoretical concepts, their practical implementation via case studies and outlines intervention components and tools useful for sports federations in their implementation of HP.ConclusionThe guidelines developed in this study are intended to facilitate national sports federations to acknowledge/understand, reinforce/underpin and foster current and further investment in HP.

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There is a dynamic increase in the number of international sports competitions aimed at deaf athletes. More than 50 World and European championships are held every year in various sports disciplines. The participation and number of deaf athletes delegated to these sports competitions depend on the budget available to national sports federations (NSFs) of deaf athletes. Many times, NSFs have been forced to withdraw from participation in a competition owing to a lack of financial resources. In numerous countries, NSFs have to conduct online fundraising dedicated to their representatives’ involvement in sports competitions. The authors reviewed the source materials on the internet on financing the sport of the hearing impaired. No scientific articles covering the funding aspect of national sports federations in the world were found. The authors relied on financial documents provided by the NSF (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain) and on websites indicated by these federations. The aim of the article was to characterize selected national organizations gathering deaf athletes from Europe, Asia and Oceania, and North America in terms of the budget they had at their disposal in years 2013–2017, the number of athletes associated in the NSF, and the number of Olympic competitors and the country’s medal position during the 2013 and 2017 Deaflympics. An overview of NSF websites with reference to “annual reports”, “financial reports”, “financial statements”, “newsletter”, “national teams of”, “number of athletes of”, demonstrated numerous deficiencies in the transparent presentation of the financial situation of NSFs. The content of NSF activity reports also provides limited information on the number of athletes and clubs associated in these federations. The article constitutes an introduction to a discussion on the financing aspects and development of deaf people’s sport worldwide.

Poland has achieved the lowest result (9%) of all surveyed European countries regarding the proportion of women holding senior positions in national sports federations. The unchanging under-representation of women in executive boards confirms the need to analyse factors maintaining gender inequality in Polish sports federations. 24 individual in-depth interviews were conducted with persons occupying leadership positions in order to explore the recruitment and selection process for board members in Polish sports federations. The results show significant discrepancies between women and men in terms of perceiving barriers preventing existence of more diverse and gender-balanced boards. Women indicated that the selection policy significantly reduced women's possibilities to hold positions in boards. The selection is preceded by appointing candidates by members of federations. Lack of trust towards women in sport and old boys' network are the causes of not nominating them, according to the female respondents. The studied male respondents did not agree with these opinions. They pointed out lack of willingness and proper commitment that results in women not being elected. They did not identify gender as a significant feature in the functioning of an organisation. The research indicates the need to make the leaders of sports organisations more aware of the gendered structure of sports organisations as well as the need to deepen a discussion about the recruitment and selection policy for board members in sports organisations. Although the choice following of the then nominated candidates seems to be democratic, it can distort the chances of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Marmara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Hukuk Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Marmara University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Gender equality has been a major discussion item on the French Ministry of Sports' agenda in recent years. In terms of governance, in 2014, the law n°2014-873 'for true equality between women and men' introduced two types of gender quota on the executive boards of national sports federations (NSFs). Senators and deputies relaxed the conditions regarding the implementation of quotas, alluding to a lack of female candidates. The present study investigates the claim that there are not enough female sports leaders and analyses the electoral competition in the governing bodies of French NSFs following the enactment of these quotas. The study adopts a mixed method, consisting of a quantitative study conducted on 107 NSFs and a qualitative investigation conducted on one Olympic federation in particular. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used to assess whether women were under-represented on executive boards. In addition, we conducted seventeen semi-structured interviews. Overall, electoral competition for most executive boards appears to be very limited as most of the candidates were elected. Quantitative figures suggest that there is no voting bias against women and that it is rare for there to be a lack of female candidates. However, both visible and invisible resistance does exist. Some federations limit the application of the law through ex-officio members and consider quotas as a maximum. Moreover, backstage power strategies influence both the number of applications and the results of the ballots. Despite these factors, female representation in sport governance is rising significantly. After the last elections, it rose faster than it had in the previous decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Researchers and policy-makers have highlighted that the potential for organized sports to promote health has been underexploited. Sports clubs have limited capacity to promote health due to their voluntary nature and have called for support from their national sports federations. The present article provides guidelines, based on the theoretical principles of health promoting sports clubs and an analysis of practical tools and proven strategies, to support national sports federations to invest in health promotion (HP)., Methods: A qualitative iterative study was undertaken, based on five 2-h meetings of a group of 15 international researchers in HP in sports clubs. Notes and minutes from meetings, as well as shared outputs were analyzed based on the health promoting sports club framework., Results: Guidelines developed for national sports federations to promote health includes a definition of a health promoting sports federation (HPSF), a description of how the settings-based approach to HP adapts to national sports federations, as well as practical applications of health promoting sports club's intervention strategies. The analysis of existing tools also demonstrated that most tools are centered on a single dimension of health (social, mental, physical, spiritual or community), and often on a specific health topic. Furthermore, they do not cover HP as a continuous long-lasting process, but are generally short-term programs. The HPSF clarifies theoretical concepts, their practical implementation via case studies and outlines intervention components and tools useful for sports federations in their implementation of HP., Conclusion: The guidelines developed in this study are intended to facilitate national sports federations to acknowledge/understand, reinforce/underpin and foster current and further investment in HP., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher., (Copyright © 2023 Van Hoye, Geidne, Vuillemin, Dowd, Glibo, Heck, Ibsen, Johnson, Kingsland, Kokko, Lane, Ooms, Overbye, Woods, Zeimers, Whiting and Winand.)