International Federation of Strength Athletes explained

International Federation of Strength Athletes
Size:180px
Type:Sports federation
Headquarters:Glasgow, Scotland
Leader Title:Managing Director
Leader Name:Christian Fennell
Language:English

The International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA or IFSA Strongman) was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland.[1]

History

Origins

In 1995, David Webster, a Scotsman who later received an OBE for his services to sport and head coordinator of the World's Strongest Man from its inception, and his colleague Dr Douglas Edmunds, seven-times Scottish shot and discus champion and twice world caber champion,[2] along with representatives from the competitors in strength athletics including Jamie Reeves, Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert formed a governing body called the International Federation of Strength Athletes ("IFSA"). IFSA ran its own grand prix events from 1995 to 2001 in cooperation with WSM. IFSA began co-producing the Strongman Super Series events from 2001 to 2004, still in cooperation with WSM. IFSA entered an agreement with World Class Events (WCE), headed by Ulf Bengtsson, to run the Strongman Super Series. The Strongman Super Series was designed to award the annual Strongman World Championship title, but also acted as a qualifying vehicle for the World's Strongest Man contest.

Split with WSM

For almost a decade IFSA and WSM worked in full cooperation, but this changed at the end of the 2004 season when IFSA returned to organizing its own grand prix events and World Strongman Championships from 2005 to 2007. The InvestGroup Ventures' sports rights management arm, InvestGroup Sports Management, invested heavily into IFSA and this led to the creation of IFSA Strongman. The strategy was to acquire most of the international assets and properties relating to the strongman sport. In essence this was a new organization[3] with some, such as Magnus Samuelsson describing it as "a new company...with the same name as our old federation".[4] The attempt at dominance was not well received by TWI/WSM and disagreement ensued leading to a split in the sport. When IFSA and WSM split in 2004, the Strongman Super Series sided with TWI/WSM forming a rival federation to the IFSA.[3] With the WSM being a TWI owned event, IFSA Holdings announced its own World Strongman Championships for 2005, to be held in Quebec, and thus from that point had no involvement in the WSM contest. From this point, IFSA continued to organize the annual IFSA World Strongman Championships and a series of Grand Prix events throughout the year. Between 2005 and 2007 IFSA had their own version of other major events such as a rival IFSA version of Europe's Strongest Man, known as Europe's Strongest Man (IFSA).

Thus, the world of strength athletics became fragmented, with a number of individuals being able to lay claim to be the strongest in the world by virtue of having won mutually exclusive events. Athletes affiliated to IFSA Strongman were not allowed to compete in the World's Strongest Man ("WSM"), which is produced by TWI and thus neither WSM and its associated Strongman Super Series nor the IFSA circuit could claim to have a comprehensive field of the top athletes. Some events did exist that bridged the divide between the major organizations, such as the Arnold Strongman Classic and Fortissimus.

Dissolution of IFSA/birth of SCL

After the 2007 IFSA World Championships in South Korea, news began to circulate of athletes not being paid, and equipment shipping costs not being honored.[5] IFSA eventually ended up owing $63,000[5] for shipping their equipment from England to South Korea and finally to Philadelphia. When the money was not paid, the equipment was put up for sale and was eventually purchased by other strongman contest promoters.[6] The 2007 IFSA World Championships would be the final contest run solely by, and under the banner of, IFSA.

In 2008 IFSA executives Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert developed the Strongman Champions League and negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. However, the dissolution of IFSA meant that since the end of 2007, the Strongman Champions League still operated independent of IFSA. Gradually, the last vestiges of IFSA influence began to diminish which led to the breaking down of barriers between the various concurrent circuits. Strength athletes were able to compete in more than one circuit and did so, with a cross over of athletes between the Giants Live circuit, the Strongman Champions League and the Strongman Super Series being apparent. The 2009 World's Strongest Man was therefore anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet"[7] because the organisers could ensure invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body.

IFSA Strongman World Championships

IFSA Strongman World Championships
Founded:2005
Tournament Format:Multi-event competition
Folded:2007
Champion: Vasyl Virastyuk
Champ Season:2007

2005: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 25 September 2005

Quebec City, Canada

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. 103
2. 96
3. 93.5
4. 86
5. 84.5
6. 82.5
7. 81.5
8. 69
9. 67
10. 64.5
11. 54.5
12. 43

2006: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 24, 25 November 2006

Reykjavik, Iceland

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. 80.5
2. 78.5
3. 72
4. 70
5. 55
6. 46.5
7. 44.5
8. 43
9. 38
10. 35
11. 33.5
12. 20.5

2007: IFSA Strongman World Championships

Dates: 12–15 September 2007

Geumsan, South Korea

PositionNameCountryPoints
1. 57.5
2. 52.5
3. 51.5
4. 50.5
5. 46.5
6. 41.5
7. 40
8. 32.5
9. 29.5
10. 26
11. 20.5
12. 17.5

Grand Prix events

1995

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
Copenhagen, Denmark
Torfi Olaffson
Klaipėda, Lithuania
Gary Taylor Stasys Mėčius
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

1996

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Copenhagen, Denmark
Torfi Olaffson
Denmark
7 July 1996

1997

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
Meerssen, Netherlands
Copenhagen, Denmark
Riku Kiri Magnus Ver Magnusson
Stasys Mecius

1998

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Helsinki, Finland
14 March 1998
Klaipėda, Lithuania
Raimunds Kencivikius 1 August 1998
Budapest, Hungary
2 August 1998
Arnbruck, Germany
Heinz Ollesch5 September 1998
Faroe Islands

1999

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Helsinki, Finland
Sami Heinonen 6 March 1999
Faroe Islands
Regin Vagadal16 May 1999
Keszthely. Hungary
18 July 1999
Hardenberg, Netherlands
24 July 1999
Prague, Czech Republic
14 August 1999
Iceland
17 October 1999
Matti Uppa

2000

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Helsinki, Finland
18 March 2000
Ireland
30 April 2000
Sopot, Poland
25 June 2000
Faroe Islands
2 September 2000
Prague, Czech Republic
Jan Bartl 2 September 2000
Bucharest, Romania
Rene Minkwitz16 September 2000
Panyu, China
8 October 2000

2001

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Sopot, Poland
Svend Karlsen10 March 2007
Faroe Islands
28 July 2007
Kokkola, Finland
Svend Karlsen Wout Zijlstra Rene Minkwitz26 August 2007

2002

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Szczyrk, Poland
Hugo Girard9 February 2002
Vantaa, Finland
Svend Karlsen20 April 2002
Istanbul, Turkey
Wout Zijlstra Bernd Kerschbaumer18 May 2002
Mariehamn, Finland
Jorma Paananen Harri Simonen10 August 2002
Imatra, Finland
Anders Johansson 17 August 2002
Panyu, China
Svend Karlsen Žydrūnas Savickas20 October 2002

2003

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Inowrocław, Poland
Raimonds Bergmanis12 April 2003
Vantaa, Finland
Mariusz Pudzianowski17 May 2003
Winnipeg, Canada
Andrus Murumets Peter Baltus15 June 2003
Ylitornio, Finland
Vidas Blekaitis28 June 2003
Gdynia, Poland
Mariusz Pudzianowski24 August 2003
Sopron, Hungary
Ervin Katona Ádám Darázs Tomi Lotta15 November 2003

2004

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Jūrmala, Latvia
Vilius Petrauskas22 May 2004
Turkey
Tomi Lotta22 May 2004
Doetinchem, Netherlands
Žydrūnas Savickas13 June 2004
Ukraine
Žydrūnas Savickas20 June 2004
Šiauliai, Lithuania
Žydrūnas Savickas Vasyl Virastyuk Tomasz Nowotniak 3 July 2004
Riga, Latvia
Mariusz Pudzianowski Vasyl Virastyuk18 July 2004
Szeged, Hungary
Ervin Katona Saulius Brusokas Ettiene Smit11 September 2004

2005

Beginning in 2005, IFSA cut all ties with World's Strongest Man and Strongman Super Series and began hosting their own grand prix events and world championships from 2005 to 2007.

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Szeged, Hungary
Ettiene Smit1 May 2005
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19 May 2005
Moscow, Russia
6 June 2005
Doetinchem, Netherlands
12 June 2005
Hungary
Ádám Darázs Jan Křeháček 25 June 2005
Riga, Latvia
17 July 2005
Kristiansand, Norway
6 August 2005
São Paulo, Brazil
20 August 2005
São Paulo, Brazil
21 August 2005
Šiauliai, Lithuania
Žydrūnas Savickas Vilius Petrauskas 27 August 2005
Denmark
Juha-Pekka Aitala 20 November 2005

2006

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Kyiv, Ukraine
Ettiene Smit18 April 2006
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Andrus Murumets24 April 2006
Moscow, Russia
Andrus Murumets Žydrūnas Savickas14 May 2006
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jon Andersen21 May 2006
Salou, Spain
Juha-Pekka Aitala Jarno Hams5 June 2006
Eger, Hungary
Travis Ortmayer5 June 2006
Terborg, Netherlands
Jarno Hams10 June 2006
Riga, Latvia
Mikhail Koklyaev18 July 2006
Tornio, Finland
Steve MacDonald5 August 2006
Kyiv, Ukraine
Vasyl Virastyuk Oleksandr Pekanov29 December 2006

United Strongman Series

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Kyiv, Ukraine
Viktor Yurchenko18 April 2006
Limassol, Cyprus
Raimonds Bergmanis28 May 2006
Belgrade, Serbia
Geoff Dolan Sebastian Wenta20 June 2006
Moscow, Russia
Sebastian Wenta Igor Pedan1 July 2006
Marijampolė, Lithuania
Igor Pedan19 August 2006

2007

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Riga, Latvia
Vidas Blekaitis17 March 2007
Ulft, Netherlands
Georg Ögmundsson17 June 2007
Sofia, Bulgaria
Janne Illikainen Ervin Katona23 June 2007
Kyiv, Ukraine
Vidas Blekaitis22 July 2007
Klaipėda, Lithuania
Janne Illikainen28 July 2007
Oulu, Finland
Janne Illikainen2 September 2007

Strongman Champions League

See main article: Strongman Champions League.

Developed by Ilkka Kinnunen and Marcel Mostert, the Strongman Champions League was launched in 2008 as "a new episode in strongman". It negotiated with IFSA to use its athletes. Since the end of 2008, the Strongman Champions League still operates independently after the dissolution of IFSA:

2008

Name and LocationChampionRunner-Up3rd PlaceDate
Riga, Latvia
22 March 2008
Subotica, Serbia
10 May 2008
Varsseveld, Netherlands
1 June 2008
Sofia, Bulgaria
21 June 2008
Vilnius, Lithuania
2 August 2008
Constanța, Romania
16 August 2008
Kokkola, Finland
29 August 2008
Žydrūnas Savickas
130 points
Ervin Katona
72 points
Agris Kazelniks
60 points

Events were planned in the following locations but cancelled: Dubai, Germany and Hungary

UK Regional Competitions

British Championships (IFSA)

See also: Strength Athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

UK Championship (IFSA)

YearChampionRunner-Up3rd Place
1997 Russ Bradley
1999 TBC TBC

IFSA England's Strongest Man

See also

References

  1. Web site: Official site – history . 2008-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080921150511/http://ifsastrongman.com/about/history/ . 2008-09-21 . dead .
  2. http://www.heraldscotland.com/bring-on-the-war-games-1.858177 The Herald Scotland Bring on the war games DOUG GILLON, Athletics Correspondent, 19 May 2007
  3. Web site: IFSA, WCE, TWI, WSM, ESPN: Who's On First and How Do I Get To World's Strongest Man?, by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind, Thursday, February 10, 2005 . May 27, 2010 . March 14, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314174531/http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2005/Feb/IFSA_WCE_TWI_WSM_ESPN_Whos_On_First_and_How_Do_I_Get_To_Worlds_Strongest_Man.html . dead .
  4. Web site: Magnus Samelsson Official website . 2010-05-27 . 2014-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141029100431/http://www.magnus-samuelsson.net/en/veckobrev.asp . dead .
  5. Web site: IFSA: Going, Going . . . . www.ironmind.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111210184717/http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2008/Mar/IFSA_Going_Going___.html . 2011-12-10.
  6. Web site: For Sale: IFSA Strongman Equipment . . . Strongman Worlds in a Box . www.ironmind.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091019131318/http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2008/Feb/For_Sale__IFSA_Strongman_Equipment____Strongman_Worlds_in_a_Box.html . 2009-10-19.
  7. http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2009/Aug/Worldxs_Strongest_Man_2009_More_on_the_Competitors.html World’s Strongest Man 2009: More on the Competitors, Ironmind, Thursday, August 6, 2009, by Randall J. Strossen

External links