Come On In, The Water’s Fine!
*Reprinted from the December 1971 issue of MUSCLE BUILDER/POWER
After 26 years of unceasing effort, my brother Joe and I - with the help of friends all over the world - have finally realized a cherished dream: We have gained for bodybuilding official international recognition as a competitive sport. And we have legally affiliated the International Federation of BodyBuilders with the official international coordinating body of all sports, the General Assembly of International Sports Federations.
Realizing our dream has been difficult as well as time-consuming. It has taken struggle and sacrifice, dedication and devotion. The realization was kept out of reach for many years because within the field there were incessant bickering, jealousies between federations, and petty personal ambitions. Now that an effective international organization has been established and granted official status by the highest world coordinating body of sports, the way is clear to gain general public recognition for bodybuilding, possibly by including it as an Olympic competition along with the other health-benefiting, internationally-contested sports.
Back in 1946 when my brother Joe and I founded the I.F.B.B. in Montreal, the only member nation was Canada. I was only 22 years old at the time and my brother was 24. Although we were young, we were zealous and dedicated bodybuilders. We vowed to put an end to the second-class status of bodybuilding, to the way bodybuilders were exploited as side-show attractions - a male beauty contest that was patronized by the powers-that-be governing weight lifting even though the physique contests consistently drew more fans than lifting competitions. We vowed that the tail would stop wagging the dog.
Little did we imagine that it would take so long! During the intervening years I have traveled to more than 90 countries and my brother to more than 40 on behalf of bodybuilding. We knew the only way a strong and truly international bodybuilding federation could exist would be with the affiliation of all nations in which bodybuilding is practiced. Within a few years we affiliated five nations and continue to encourage bodybuilding enthusiasts throughout the world to form national committees and organize bodybuilding contests on a regular basis. Between the years 1946 and 1970 we succeeded in getting 57 nations to affiliate. All of these national organizations pay annual membership dues and follow the rules of the I.F.B.B. Constitution. Each nation had to form its own committee, elect its own executive, and approve a national constitution that would live up to the Olympic spirit and be of a totally amateur character.
With the full approval of our delegates we took our first really major stride toward international recognition when we held the first Asian Congress in Singapore. The I.F.B.B. then had 10 affiliated Asian nations and the Asian Amateur Bodybuilding Federation had eight. The delegates agreed to combine forces and eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort, so now 18 Asian nations are part of the Asian Amateur Bodybuilding Federation and the I.F.B.B. To follow up, we held our first International Congress in Belgrade on the 24th and 25th of September [1970]. Thirty-one nations attended and an election was held to form our executive committee and approve a proposed constitution, which was submitted to the delegates. Great credit is due to the devoted efforts of Oscar State of England, one of the most highly respected international weightlifting officials, whose guidance assured that these organizational meetings proceeded smoothly.
The final step was taken in November of 1970 when the I.F.B.B. applied officially to join the General Assembly of International Sports Federations, which has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. I was invited to attend their annual congress, which took place on the 11th to the 15th of March of this year (1971) in Vienna, Austria.
During this congress, the I.F.B.B. became a legally affiliated member and we took our seat with the other international sports federations. The General Assembly of International Sports Federations is the highest international governing body working with and coordinating the activities of all the international governing bodies of sport. It carries out liaison between the individual sports federations and the International Olympic Committee. As the congress progressed, I took part in work committees dealing with topics concerning the next Olympic Games, which will be held in Munich. Our bodybuilding federation served in the congress on an equal footing with all other international federations, including those governing weightlifting, swimming, boxing, gymnastics, wrestling, and track and field.
The significance of our new affiliation is that the I.F.B.B. is now involved at the highest possible level in international sport. We are also affiliated with the International Council of Sport and Physical Education, an organization that is sponsored by United Nations and has its headquarters at U.N.E.S.C.O. House in Paris. We now have official recognition internationally as the federation controlling bodybuilding activities on an international level. Our acceptance in the General Assembly of International Sports Federations and the International Council of Sport and Physical Education means that bodybuilding is recognized as a sport that ranks with all other internally contested sports.
Although we feel that these recent achievements have monumental import for bodybuilding, we are not resting on our laurels. During the Vienna meeting I spoke with Dr. A. Czanadi of Budapest, Hungary, who is the International Olympic Committee member for Hungary and Chairman of the I.O.C. subcommittee dealing with Olympic programming. He advised me that to obtain Olympic recognition a federation must have 40 affiliated nations and serious activities of their sport in a minimum of three continents. When I informed Dr. Czanadi that the I.F.B.B. had 57 affiliated nations and major competitions on all five continents, he was impressed. Dr. Czanadi asked me, before all the representatives of international federations present, to submit our application for membership to the Olympic committee, saying that he would consider our application seriously and sympathetically.
This we have done, I am pleased to report. We hope and expect to receive official recognition with the year. This does not mean that bodybuilding will be included in the next Olympic Games, but it does mean that the way is being prepared for bodybuilding competition in the Olympics of the future. The first step will be to assure that the I.F.B.B. and bodybuilding are recognized by the Olympic Committee as a federation and sport that live up to the ideals of Olympic competition, respecting and honoring the amateur code. After this step is taken we will take the final step of applying for inclusion in the Olympic Games.
To summarize the situation at present: Bodybuilding is now an officially-recognized international amateur sport, ranking equally with all other sports, and the I.F.B.B. is now a respected official international federation ranking with the other officially-recognized international federations. This brings us to the situation existing within the U.S.A., where the I.F.B.B. and the A.A.U. have often been at odds regarding the conduct of bodybuilding competition. It now will be necessary for A.A.U. officials interested in bodybuilding competition to find common ground with the I.F.B.B. in order to unify and properly administer the bodybuilding movement within America.
We recognize that there are many excellently qualified A.A.U. officials who are dedicated to the advancement of bodybuilding. The superb presentation of the amateur and professional Mr. World contests is a case in point, with television coverage providing a great boost for the sport among people who otherwise might never have known of it. We hopefully anticipate that truly dedicated A.A.U. men will welcome the opportunity we provide to further elevate bodybuilding as an international sport.
We hope that it will not be necessary for us to set up separate state and national organizations. We hope that it will not be necessary for us to withhold international sanctions from A.A.U. bodybuilders who wish to compete abroad, because - and this must be emphasized - only bodybuilders approved by the I.F.B.B. will be accepted in international championships.
If the A.A.U. is seriously interested in the promotion of amateur sport it now has the opportunity to affiliate its bodybuilding activities with the officially recognized international governing body, the I.F.B.B. By doing so, it can avoid further erosion of its stature as recently occurred when the NCAA-backed United States Gymnastics Federation replaced the A.A.U. as the official U.S. representative to the International Gymnastics Federation after 35 years of A.A.U. control of the sport. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) noted at the time that "the U.S.G.F. victory is recognition by the international sports community of the federation concept for the United States. It will provide great impetus for the movement to single-purpose organizations for the administration of sports in this country." The NCAA comments continued, "Much more significant than any squabbling with the A.A.U. was the need for the formation of a knowledgeable, experienced body to govern each of these sports, to concentrate on one sport, and to focus unwavering attention upon the promotion and development of that sport."
This is precisely what must be done for bodybuilding in the United States. At the present time the strength of other non-A.A.U. federations is growing within the U.S.A. - organizations such as the U.S. Track and Field Federation. In track and field the A.A.U. is considering modifications that will eventually benefit the athletes regardless of which organization ultimately controls the sport.
The A.A.U. now has the opportunity to deal realistically with bodybuilding, avoiding further divisions in amateur sport within the U.S.A. We will welcome A.A.U. affiliation with the I.F.B.B. as we welcomed the Asian Amateur Bodybuilding Federation to join in our common cause. The I.F.B.B. has struggled long and hard on behalf of the bodybuilder for the past 26 years. Now that we have achieved official international recognition we are in a position - with the help and dedication of competitors and officials throughout America - to protect the American bodybuilder from improperly run contests and exploitation. The certified controls that we have established for competition will assure the bodybuilder standardized conditions and fair contest not only throughout the U.S.A. but also throughout the world.
In most nations the bickering and jealousies have ceased and organizations governing bodybuilding are united behind the I.F.B.B. There are only a few nations still requiring unification, the most important of which is the United States. Therefore I make this public appeal for A.A.U. representatives to meet with me and work out some form of agreement so bodybuilding can be organized and controlled properly in America. I invite all bodybuilders to send their opinions and suggestions as to how our sport can now be established individually in America as it is established internationally. The ideas and recommendations of those most directly concerned will guide us in the future.
Sincerely yours,
Ben Weider
World President, I.F.B.B.
