Do not miss the first part of our interview with the President of the International Federation. At the head of a very active and dynamic team, which faces its second term, we talk about the internationalization of this sport and the dispute during this same year of both the European Championship and the World Championship for Minors.
Padel World Press .- They have not stopped taking steps forward and facing important challenges since they came to the Presidency of the FIP in December of 2012. Thanks to his effort, paddle tennis is a sport that is increasingly present in a greater number of countries, as evidenced by the fact that the number of National Federations and Associations does not stop growing. At the same time, they are still working to achieve greater unity among the different sectors that are part of this sport and have verified the Regulations and Statutes to adapt them to our current, institutional and sporting needs.
Do not miss the first part of this interesting interview.
With great and ambitious challenges put in place from the beginning of your second mandate, what balance would be made from the FIP of these first months of 2017?
We are in the middle of a path that we started five years ago. The renewal of the President and the 80% of the Board of Directors in 2016 indicate that this journey has been important, well done, managing with prudence and at the same time accelerating when it could, defending the interests of the vast majority and looking to the future . All recognize that the management has been broadly satisfactory and the FIP is more present in all environments and is more recognized than in the past. We will try to continue at the same pace, with the same intentions and projects. I include some phrases that I used in my recent speech at the Crans Montana Forum, to which I was invited, because they are a true reflection of what we are actually doing:
The International Paddle Federation has assumed the commitment to promote and grow our sport, in terms of the number of people who practice it, who enjoy watching high-level competitions or who transmit it to others because they are educators or trainers, 'sustainable and compatible with the environment that surrounds us'.
El commitment It is also behavioral: "Good governance of the institution (Good Governance), transparent financial management (Transparent Financial Management), integrity and trust (Integrity and Trust), inclusiveness (Inclusiveness)".
More and more tournaments are being organized in the most diverse countries of the world… How many requests for new tournaments has the IFJ received this year? Did you expect such growth?
If you look at our 2018 Calendar, you will see that we have reached 80 official competitions included in it. It is a new record. But we are sure that it is something that will change, it will stabilize and only well-organized tournaments will remain ... Some will surely not be repeated, others will resurface with a different format and this forces a greater responsibility of the organizers and a greater professionalization of the supervisors of the National Federations. We will do a course for these. When everyone is finally aware of it, the number will grow again and the quality of the Tournaments will be higher, there will be competition to say which was the best FIP250, FIP500 or FIP1000 of the Circuit. Players speak, communicate and determine opinions a lot and this has a direct influence on an event that must be sold, publicized, disseminated, transmitted and that, therefore, needs sponsorship. This will also help the National Circuit Tournaments, without a doubt. There are several projects on which we are working and having a critical mass of many tests of different categories distributed as much as possible in the world was and is one of the objectives that we are reaching.
There is much talk about the internationalization of paddle tennis ... How does that process look from the International Federation? Which country or countries have surprised you the most for their growth and development?
All contribute to the growth and internationalization of our sport, each from their own perspective and according to their possibilities, objectives and culture. It's something we've talked about in the past. From the International Federation we do it with the order imposed by our statutes, regulations and internal codes of our organization. We take care of 'putting order' in an environment that has grown very rapidly in recent years, working equally for everyone in institutional issues, professional training and certification. About this, the certification of padel balls is already underway, something requested by the same brands. More information and updates can be obtained in our completely renewed portal.
In my position I cannot indicate a National Federation as more 'active' ... They are the contacts with them, the projects, the presence of their national teams of Minors and Absolutes in the official competitions, the organization of official activity and also verify with your own eyes, what each one is actually doing in their own country, which can allow a classification to be made; but each has its own parameters of judgment. I travel a lot, I visit countries because I have been invited to events or meetings. Therefore, the President of the IFJ has knowledge but is somewhat reserved and that only the Board of Directors knows. For me, and for the entire Board of Directors of the International Federation, all Associate Members are equal, have equal dignity and the same opportunities to do things. Not only Federations with a high number of associates (licenses) can do things well. There are situations that show that with capacity, organization and a motivated federative structure, very good events can be held even if there are not thousands of licenses.
The number of member countries of the International Federation has also increased… How many countries are part of your family? Will there be more news before the end of the year?
Today there is 31 but surely the 2017 year will close with a greater number of countries that will be part of our family. We hope to reach the fifth continent that we lack.
2017 will be a very special year for the FIP… The European is back, a competition that 'rescued' your team… What does this Championship mean for the FIP?
The FIP is an institution, organization, reference entity for the governance of our sport worldwide. Its greatest strength is deposited in the National Team Championships, which are developed continuously from our birth. The FIP was born in the 1991 but already in the 1992 the first World Championship was played.
To date 13 Absolute World Cups have been played, in Malaga the XI World Junior Championship will be played. 7 Panamericanos de Menores have been held and in Chile this year the second South American Absolute will be played. The European returns, it will be the Xº, and it is an immense pleasure. He has returned to Holland two years ago and with his current format, he has returned to stay. We will return to Estoril, in Portugal, to the same club where 2009 was already played and it will be a new record: 15 participating countries.
It is also a pleasure to anticipate the return of the North American, after four editions played between the 1993 and the 1996. We can confirm that in November 2017 will be played again.
All these Championships, which we trust are already in a stabilization phase, are jointly the heritage of the FIP, with their shirts and flags ... They are the events that each player aspires to compete, because they will defend the colors of their homeland. They are not just any tournaments, they are the most important Championships for the players, the National Federations, the FIP as well as for the press and broadcast media as well.
After his absence in 2015, Spain will be present at the Xth European Championship, which will be played in Estoril ... Will he be seeded or will he have no points for his absence in the previous edition?
Spain will not be seeded in the next European Championship… And that will be the problem of the seeded players who are in their groups with the Spanish teams, both male and female. But in sport, the principle that the best man wins must prevail and we must all accept that, without any speculation.
The first two of each group will be in the table, as happened in the World Cup. For its part, the draw for the Group Stage will probably take place in September in Portugal, although the date and venue must still be confirmed.
The World Cup for Minors will also be played in Malaga, in which for the first time there will be a World Open for National Couples… How did the idea of starting that competition come up?
We must renew ourselves and 'listen' to what happens around us. In this case, on the one hand the tournament by absolute national pairs is always being questioned, and we must take it into account in the future; on the other, children 'push' to have more space.
The fact that the Children's World Cup was organized in Spain has also had its importance since the number of Spanish children who participate in children's and young people's activity is very important. It is an occasion to put the test to a different format for children, to encourage the participation of children from countries that do not yet have a National Team, to allow everyone to participate in a World Cup, playing an Open because they were not called in 4 places reserved for each category of the National Team. It will also allow us to finally inaugurate an Official FIP Ranking of minors, which should be fed with tournaments reserved for Minors and organized by the affiliated National Federations and Associations, some of which may be International Open and others that are only national (one per country ).
In the event that the experience is satisfactory ... Will that same model be transferred to the Absolute World Cups?
It is premature to say so and children and young people obey different stimuli than older ones. The Open coinciding with the World Cup by National Teams had already been played since the beginning of our activity and until several years ago ... It would be like going back to that origin.
On a personal level, I think times have changed. We are no longer ten countries that compete and, therefore, I consider that the majors currently have many occasions of high level competition, so the Open during the World Cup would not be considered as it should be. The flags in the World Cup have shown that they have such priority and importance that, today, they leave very little space for other competitions that only complicate the organizing committee because it interests a few. It is something that has been under analysis for a long time and surely soon we will have news about future formats.
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