JUST days before the start of the 2012 London Olympics, the world’s finest pole sports athletes will come together to compete for the title of the first 2012 IPSF World Pole Sport Gold Medal Champion.

Since its arrival on the mainstream fitness scene, pole fitness, as a sport, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of its athletes and has doubled in popularity annually across the world.

Far from being just about pole dancing, pole sports or ‘vertical gymnastics’, requires strength, athleticism, creativity, and grace. And pole sports athletes across the world are ready to get their sport recognized by the greatest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games.

Hosted by the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), it’s hoped that this year’s World Pole Sport Championship, to be held at the Seymour Leisure Centre in London on July 19th and 20th, will serve as the foundation of the future of pole sports as an Olympic competition.

There are three separate categories in which competitors can qualify for: Women’s Singles, Men’s Singles, and Doubles. The top athletes of each category will be awarded the International Pole Sports Federation’s gold, silver, and bronze medals.

The IPSF is an organization for promoting athletic competition in pole sports and uniting pole sports athletes around the world. Its aim is to make pole sports more prominent in the sports community and to get pole sports competitions in major global sporting events such as the World Games and the Olympics.

Read the Press Release >

The IPSF Competition Event Recognition Program seeks to accomplish two things:

1) Recognize regional events that are producing Pole Athletes. The level of event recognition is based on the level of entrant criteria fairness and level of recognition of event judging. The IPSF seeks to improve and standardize the level of competition across the world through the incentive of being recognized by the Pole Sports industry’s Olympic organizing body. This will make the competition more attractive to athletes and sponsors thus making the competition more lucrative to the organizers and the athletes.

2) Identify athletes that may participate in the IPSF World Pole Sport Championship. This is accomplished through the assignment of “IPSF Competition Credit” for finishers in the top three of the event. Furthermore, the amount of corresponding credit is based on the level of the event recognition. The more the event and the competition seek to abide by commonly accepted criteria for competitions, the more the credit possible for the athlete.

Read the Program's Rules and Regulations >

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States – October 1, 2010 – In a bid to bring Pole Sports to the Olympic and World Games arena, the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF) has put together an all-star team of fitness professionals from around the world. The industry’s top leaders in training, certification, competition, and equipment have joined together to build an Olympic-caliber organization from the ground up. It is with great pride that the IPSF announces the following committee members:

Executive Committee
Timothy Trautman (President) – United States
KT Coates (Executive Vice-President) – United Kingdom

Technical Committee
Mary Ellyn Weissman (Chair) – United States
Cindy Cooijmans – The Netherlands
Jeanine Corringham – South Africa

Marketing Committee
Jack Gaffney (Chair) – United States
Talece Brown – United States
Charlotte Speller – United Kingdom
Alexandra Wood – United Kingdom

Accreditation Committee
Christine Gregory - United Kingdom

Athlete Committee
Tami Dixon (Chair) – United States
Ingrid Jerak – Croatia
Monica Rumbea – Ecuador

Medical Committee
Dr. Sherry Morris (Chair) – United States

Safety Committee
Clive Coote (Chair) – United Kingdom
Stephen Penney – United Kingdom

Event Committee
Kay Penney (Chair) – United Kingdom
Adrian Tan - Singapore

Ethics Committee
Kate Whitley (Chair) – United Kingdom
Franchesca Carrasquillo – United States

Regional Vice-Presidents
Laura Buch (Europe) – Ireland
Vanessa Costa (South America) – Brazil
Chastitie Lujan (North America) – United States
Gabriela Munoz (Central America) – Mexico
Anna Przeplasko (Asia) – Hong Kong
Sabrina Waller (Oceania) – Australia

Pole Sports has entered the mainstream of fitness workouts around the globe and has become widely accepted as a rigorous and skillful method of exercise. The International Pole Sports Federation (www.polesports.org) was established with a simple goal – unite the Pole Sports athletes of the world, their countries, and take them to the World Games and the Olympics.

Contact:
Timothy Trautman
timothy.trautman@polesports.org
2021 S. Windsor Street, Ste. D Salt Lake City, UT 84105 USA