The European Athletics Member Federation Development Commission met in Warsaw at the weekend with President Hansen in attendance.
The meeting began with a presentation of the House of European Athletics by Commission Chair and Vice-President Jean Gracia. The new head offices will be fully operational in less than a month and the inauguration is set for 3 November.
“Owning such an extraordinary office space in the heart of Lausanne secures the long-term future of the organisation and increases our brand visibility.
“I look forward to welcoming the entire European Athletics family to celebrate the start of new chapter in the history of the organisation,” said Hansen.
The Commission members then discussed the status of the different end of year awards for Member Federations. There is a need to raise the profile of the awards through effective communications ahead of time and to better promote the individuals and projects being rewarded.
The outcomes of the Women in World Athletics Seminar were evaluated and the priority is to enable women to hold leading roles within athletics so that their voices can be heard when important decisions are made.
“The governance of athletics should reflect its diversity which is a key strength compared to other sports,” said Gracia.
EA Development Commission at work today in Warsaw under leadership of EA VP Jean Gracia #yoursportforlife pic.twitter.com/TSkHcvTEyt
— Svein Arne Hansen (@SvenPres) October 1, 2016
Commission members agreed that the masters running movement has a very strong potential but has not been properly incorporated amongst Member Federations. The Commission recommended pursuing collaboration with the European Masters Association to develop this interesting market.
The Working Groups for Youth, High Performance, Education, Clubs and Running presented an update of their activities since the previous meeting and made specific recommendations moving forward.
The Commission put forth the recommendation to the Executive Board to organise a High Performance Conference in the Spring of 2017 and a Running Business Conference in the Autumn.
Head of Development, Marko Vasic presented European Athletics’ involvement in the European Week of Sport, the initiative driven by the European Commission to promote sport and physical activity.
With encouragement from European Athletics, a total of 146 races across the continent - including 12 which have also been endorsed by European Athletics Running For All - participated from big city races such as the Copenhagen and Budapest Half Marathons to smaller grassroots events aimed at introducing youths to physical activity.
Furthermore, Running for All has now surpassed a significant milestone with its 200th unique road race registered on the platform. The Commission urged that European Athletics pursue all activities related to the initiative which has grown rapidly due to the support of the athletics federations to promote the Quality and Safety Standards in their countries.
President Hansen then travelled from Warsaw to the Faroe Islands Federation, part of the Danish Athletics Federation, where he visited the excellent athletics facilities in Toftir and met with President Hallur Holm.
He was also brought to see the national Parliament as part of the rest of his trip.
Excellent visit to Toftir, Faroe Islands with federation president Hallur Holm and city representatives - impressive stadium #Windy! pic.twitter.com/UjIwFilWmW
— Svein Arne Hansen (@SvenPres) October 3, 2016
The next Member Federation Development Commission meeting will take place in Lausanne from 31 March to 2 April 2017.
Member Federation Development Commission members Jean Gracia (Chair, FRA), Nick Davis (IRL), Piotr Dlugosielski (POL), Alfio Giomi (ITA), Curt Högbert (SWE), Jakob Larsen (DEN), Ana Lukovic (SRB), Jean-Pierre Schoebel (MON), Erich Teigamägi (EST) and Marko Vasic (European Athletics Head of Development).