The International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA), formally established in 1998, is the world governing body for the sport of

broomball Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitive winter team sport played on ice or snow and is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and location. It is a ball sport and is most popularly played in Canada and the ...

. Based in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the IFBA is responsible for promoting the sport globally, organizing the biennial

World Broomball Championships The World Broomball Championships (WBC) is the premiere international competition for the sport of broomball and is organized and administered by the International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA). The competition is organized every e ...

. It also administers the sport's official rulebook and coaching and officiating programs.

History of the IFBA

The International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) was founded by Rick Przybysz after a visit to his home by a team from Australia, who were travelling across Canada playing games in various locations back in 1988 (they actually camped on his front lawn) where discussions chanced the possibility of getting Broomball into the winter olympics amongst other ideas for the sport. Mr.Przybysz became the IFBA's first President holding that position until 2014. The very first Secretary General was an Australian and at that meeting, thereby giving the then newly established organization its true international flavour right from its inception.

Board of directors

The day-to-day operations of the IFBA are run by the Board, a body of volunteer individuals elected by the sport's member associations. The current Board of Directors is: * President - Marc Desparios (Canada) * Vice-President (Operations): currently vacant (acting in vacant position) Marc Desparois (Canada) * Vice-President (Technical): Conrad Morneau (Canada) * General Secretary: Alan Jabs (Australia) * Treasurer - Robert Horvat (Canada) * Referee-in-Chief: Doug Nixon (Canada) * Technical Director: Chris Pilon (Canada) Additionally there is a ''Board of Governors'' which meets on a timely basis. The Board of Governors is made up of representatives from each officially recognised member country of the IFBA and it is these Governors who from instruction from their respective member associations vote in the IFBA Board of Directors in accordance to the registered not for profit constitution. The IFBA was registered as a Not for Profit Organisation in 2013 after a major update of its documentation to comply with recent changes to Canadian association law. The IFBA is registered as an entity in Canada.

Member Associations of IFBA

The following countries have broomball programs recognized by IFBA, though they may not necessarily be members of the international body.

Americas

Broomball Canada Broomball Canada''formerly the Canadian Broomball Federation (CBF), is the official governing body of the sport of broomball in Canada. The role of the organization is to provide leadership by promoting and developing broomball and developing ...

* United States of America - (formerly USA Broomball)

All Elite Broomball All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

(AEB) and the

United States Broomball Association United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(USBA).

Europe

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

- France Broomball *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

- UK Broomball * Germany *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

- Comitato Italiano Broomball *

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

- Association of Slovenian Broomball *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

- Association Suisse de Broomball

Asia & Oceania

* Australia - Broomball Australia * Japan - Japan Broomball Association * India - Broomball Association (India) - BAI

Expansion countries

In addition there are a number of countries that the IFBA is looking to take the game to, including: *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

* China * Finland *

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

* India *

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

* New Zealand *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

* Sweden * United Kingdom

World championships

The IFBA is responsible for facilitating the

, held biennially (every two years) in international locations using the skills and expertise of various host cities and member associations. As the vast majority of broomball players and teams are based in Canada or The USA, most of the championships to date have been held in this part of the world. Traditionally World Championships see teams enter from Canada, United States, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, France and Australia. Teams representing Austria, Slovenia and Germany, have also taken part but due to limited player numbers and broomball programs these nations are not able to attend each World Championship. Australia, Japan and Canada have sent teams to every World Championship.

European Championships

As part of growing and developing the sport of Broomball the IFBA has encourage the European-based member associations to hold European Nationals in the odd numbered years. The formation of the European Broomball Association oversaw the most recent European Nationals in late 2017 in the northern Italian region of Egna/Neumarkt Past events have also been held in Slovenia and Italy.

Pacific Rim Tournament

The growth of the sport of Broomball across the globe led to member association Broomball Australia running the IFBA sanctioned satellite event "The Pacific Rim" tournament. Mostly attended by teams from across Australia there has also been some interest shown by teams from Canada and Japan.

References

*Alan Jabs - General Secretary, International Federation of Broomball Associations. (January 2016) * Alan Jabs - General Secretary, International Federation of Broomball Associations. (Aug 2018)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Federation Of Broomball Associations Broomball International sports organizations