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| Abbreviation | ISF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1972 |
| Type | Sport federation |
| Purpose | International School Sport Federation organises sport events for youth athletes of age 13–18. |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
Membership | 134 National School Sports Federations (NSSF) |
Official language | French, English, German, Spanish[1] |
President | Laurent Petrynka |
| Website | www |
The International School Sport Federation (ISF) is an international sports governing body for school sport. Founded in 1972 with 21 European signatory nations, the federation has been organising international competitions to encourage education through sport and student athletes. It has 134[2] members, from five continents.[3]
ISF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee since 1995, and is a member of SportAccord.[4][5][6] Its headquarters are based in Brussels, Belgium.[7]
ISF limits itself to activities with school children between the ages of 13 and 18 (roughly contiguous with high school age).[3] This distinguishes its role from the longer-established International University Sports Federation, which governs student sport from the ages of 17 to 25.[8][9] There are currently 45 recognised ISF sports, with many of them having their own World Schools Championship every two years.[10] Other sport disciplines are part of the Gymnasiade, also known as School Summer Games, its winter edition School Winter Games or ISF Combat Games.
The first official ISF championships were in football and volleyball, which both took place in 1972, athletics, basketball, handball and skiing championships followed a year later. The foremost competition held by the ISF is the Gymnasiade – a biennial multi-sport event first held in 1974 in Wiesbaden, Germany that featured athletics, gymnastics and swimming events.
In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISF stripped Russia of the right to stage the 2024 ISF Gymnasiade, banned Russia and Belarus from participating in any ISF events, and blocked Russia and Belarus from sending representation to the ISF General Assembly.[11]
- ^ Charter Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ^ "ISF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2021 GATHERED IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM".
- ^ a b Reaching new heights of development; 108 members from all over the world. ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
- ^ About ISF Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ^ Organisations recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ^ Members Archived 2013-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. SportAccord. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ^ Contact Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
- ^ FISU Today. FISU. Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ^ Li, Ming et al. "International School Sport", pgs. 291–2. International Sport Management (2012). Human Kinetics. ISBN 978-0-7360-8273-0.
- ^ http://isfsports.org/sports . ISF. Retrieved on 2018-07-12.
- ^ "International School Sports Federation strips Russia of 2024 Gymnasiade". 2 March 2022.