A decision packed virtual meeting of IMMAF’s Board on 17 March, concluded with a decision to recognise seven new Member Federations from three continents.
The new representatives – from Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Guyana, Malta, Senegal, Sierra Leone and St Lucia – shows that the Covid-19 crisis has not slowed the rapid global growth of IMMAF.
In other major decisions, the final 2021 Competition Calendar was agreed, giving IMMAF Federations and athletes a road map for the long-awaited return to competition starting on 30 July, with events for all age groups catered for, climaxing in the IMMAF World Senior and Junior Championships in Nur Sultan Kazakhstan from 27 November to 4 December. https://immaf.org/2021/03/18/immaf-confirms-world-championships-2021-events/
The IMMAF Directors also approved the addition of three new members to IMMAF’s Athletes’ Commission. With one of the former commission members stepping down, Chairman Irman Smajic and his team were able to reach out successfully to MMA Legend Forrest Griffin to join the team. https://immaf.org/2021/03/19/ufc-hall-of-famer-forrest-griffin-joins-immaf-athletes-commission/
In addition, an open application process was put in motion to select two more candidates from the current generation of active IMMAF athletes, to give a stronger voice to athletes regarding policy decisions. After reviewing the applications, the IMMAF Athletes Commission requested Board approval to add Jack Corr (Northern Ireland) and Colleen Augustin (Malaysia) to the Commission which was granted.
Jack Corr (Northern Ireland) is an experienced martial artist in karate, wrestling and MMA, competing in 3 European and 3 World Championships both at Junior and Senior level, winning a bronze at the Junior European championships 2018.
He began coaching alongside his father Danny Corr when he was a teenager and since 2017 has been active in the Northern Ireland Youth Forum (NIYF) using MMA to reach young people across NI alongside a fulltime youth worker. Jack is now a youth MMA coach and has also been an advocate for MMA as a sport at political and media events.
Colleen Augustin (Malaysia) – Colleen is an IMMAF world championships bronze medalist and an Asia Open champion. She has become a very popular figure within the Malaysia/south-east Asia region for MMA. Colleen has made several national television appearances and is an accomplished speaker and communicator.
The IMMAF Board also received updates and progress reports on the ongoing quest for recognition from the CEO Densign White, with a Governance Reform Tracker showing that virtually all recommendations made by an independent Governance expert in 2020 have now been achieved, with the goal of achieving Tier 1 Governance standards (according to standards set by the Association of Summer Olympic Sport Federations) by the end of 2021. IMMAF Communications Director Isobel Carnwath also updated the Board on the 2021 IMMAF Communications Strategy and Plan, which will be highlighted by a number of specific campaigns aimed to raise awareness of IMMAF and engage positively with external and internal stakeholders.
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said: “This latest Board Meeting shows how hard the IMMAF teams have been working, despite the difficulties caused by the Covid crisis and we are making great progress in all areas, from members services and development to communications and governance, and with the strong support of federations and volunteers who share our passion for amateur MMA. But above all, I am excited that we will soon be able to connect again with athletes and federation staff at our events. Like the athletes, I have missed IMMAF Competitions and can’t wait to take part in live sport again.”
