IWGA Interview of the Month: José Perurena, IWGA President
The year 2022 is the year of The World Games in Birmingham, USA (7-17 July). In the Interview of the Month, IWGA President José Perurena looks ahead to the eleventh edition of the multisport event and expects nothing less than the best Games ever.
How do you look back on 2021?
José Perurena: 2021 was a difficult year for sport, and not just from my point of view. It was more difficult than we expected, looking back to the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The re-start was not as easy as we all imagined it would be, because everyone had to adapt to the ever-changing waves of infection and react to the developments. We all remember the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which had to take place without spectators for the first time ever. Many other competitions had to be postponed or took place under very strict conditions. I must say that I felt a little melancholy in July. The 11th edition of The World Games should have taken place, and more than 3,600 athletes should have started the fight for the gold medals in Birmingham, USA. The month went on without our Games. But there is no doubt that it was the right decision to postpone the event for one year. This is all the more true because we were able to avoid additional costs due to the rescheduling. Our partners helped us a lot in this. If you want to put it positively: we had one more year of anticipation. For me personally, it was also a year with a farewell, in that I gave up the presidency of the International Canoe Federation. I now have more time for the IWGA, and more time to accompany and support the positive development of our event and organisation.
Have all milestones for The World Games 2022 been reached?
José Perurena: Anyone who organises an event like The World Games knows that moving the Games by one year presents enormous challenges. What's more, due to the pandemic, we had to adjust the qualification criteria for TWG 2022. That's why I'm all the more thrilled with how we were able to achieve or reset all the milestones so that we can have a great Opening Ceremony in Birmingham, Alabama, on 7th July. I would like to thank our member federations who have been flexible and have adjusted their criteria and qualifying events to fit the circumstances. The Organising Committee in Birmingham (BOC) is also proving its qualities in dealing positively with the ever-changing situations. After all, it's no use complaining. It is much more worthwhile to react creatively to a situation in the interests of sport and, most of all, the athletes. Just to give an example: we held our competition managers meeting and combined National Olympic Committee (NOC) / National Sports Organization (NSO) meeting as hybrid events in Birmingham at the end of November. Many representatives of the stakeholders were present, and others joined in online. The result: everyone is in the picture and we remain on track. Another example: due to the postponement of the Games, we can now celebrate the opening and closing ceremonies at the new Protective Stadium in Birmingham. In short, even though detours were sometimes necessary, we have reached our milestones.
What are your expectations for the IWGA for 2022?
José Perurena: I have learnt from the pandemic that it is worth being cautious about setting expectations, and it is important to be flexible in adapting to the ever-changing situations. At the beginning of November, I knew the word omicron only as a letter in the Greek alphabet. The art is to master the important challenges despite all the changes. We are well on track in that respect. Since last week the federations have been able to enter their athletes in the registration database. The qualifications should be concluded by the end of March. The work on the sports facilities has been completed or firmly scheduled. Birmingham is already selling tickets for the individual competitions. We are also already looking to the future and will begin the bidding process for the 2029 Games this year. I don't expect, but I do hope, that we can already award this edition. Another goal of ours is to establish closer cooperation with the NOCs and NSOs.
What challenges do you see for the upcoming months?
José Perurena: As I just said, the biggest challenge is the uncertainty in all the planning. In everything you do and think, Plan B must be considered as well. And yet often enough, all we can do is react and adapt. That is not much fun. But it’s worthwhile because we know to whom we are committed: our athletes.
Covid-19 continues to be an issue with huge implications for the sport. Looking ahead to The World Games 2022, how is the IWGA handling the situation?
José Perurena: Our Medical Committee is monitoring the development of the pandemic and has an eye on what measures need to be taken and when. That's all we can say, because it's part of the pandemic that surprises cannot be ruled out. We, that is to say the Medical Committee with experts from the BOC and IWGA, are permanently working on a hygiene concept. This is an ongoing job.
You are expecting The World Games 2022 to be the best edition ever. What are the criteria for that?
José Perurena: In order for us to speak of the best Games ever, a variety of benchmarks must be achieved. The pandemic has also shifted these benchmarks. If we can offer the athletes fair competitions in optimally prepared venues under the given circumstances, that already means a lot. Every medal that we can hand over to a deserving winner is already a success. Another criterion is that we support our federations in meeting the goals they associate with The World Games. We want to provide the City of Birmingham with the promised once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course we also want to increase media attention and awareness via social media platforms.
Last but not least, we want to prove that our event follows our ongoing benchmark to be sustainable. This is with a view to conserving natural resources, promoting the positive values associated with sport and leaving a legacy for our host city. I would like to offer two examples of this: firstly, the BOC wants to establish a no-waste competition venue. This is forward-looking. Secondly, more than 3,000 volunteers will work during the Games. Birmingham can rely on the skills and experience of these volunteers at other major events. Finally, I want to let you know that we have commissioned a survey to evaluate the Games objectively, because we don't just want to claim ‘the best Games ever’, we want to be able to prove it. There is one criterion that is of importance for us which we have already fulfilled: we have accomplished a gender balanced event with 50 % male and 50 % female athletes competing.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.