World Pentathlon (Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, UIPM, www.uipmworld.org) is hosting their UIPM Congress 2024 in mid-November 2024. On the agenda is the voting of a Motion that includes Adventure Racing in a revised definition of UIPM Sports. Adventure Racing appears in their motion because it was put there by World Obstacle as part of their package offering of Ninja, Obstacle Course Racing and Adventure Racing. As World Obstacle has no right to claim Adventure Racing, IARA has reached out to UIPM members to vote against this motion.
This is our letter to them:
Letter from International Adventure Racing Association to World Pentathlon Federations
Dear Pentathlon colleagues,
We contact you on behalf of the International Adventure Racing Association (IARA), an organisation formed during 2023 to represent and govern the sport of adventure racing at the international level.
Some UIPM members may have already been contacted by national Adventure Racing organisations or representatives in your countries.
It is our understanding that World Pentathlon is holding its annual Congress on 16 & 17 November 2024 and a motion will be presented to delegates on a revised definition of ‘UIPM Sports’ (Motion EB 3, included with this correspondence). This definition includes the sport of adventure racing, along with obstacle sports, and comes as part of the integration process between World Pentathlon and World Obstacle.
Adventure racing is being included without the support of the international adventure racing community and we ask that it be removed from the definition. The only reason that adventure racing is included in this revised definition is because of World Obstacle, and that federation does not represent the sport of adventure racing internationally.
To bring you up to speed on the situation that Adventure Racing finds itself in please read IARA’s position statement. Adventure Racing’s position on World Obstacle + World Pentathlon merger (also attached).
The global adventure racing community is aligned to the values and objectives of the International Adventure Racing Association, and the following points:
- World Obstacle/FISO is not the representative body for the sport of Adventure Racing. They are a predatory federation. Their advances were outright rejected by the global adventure racing community more than 18 months ago, but World Obstacle has refused to cease and desist its self-declaration of being the representative body for our sport.
- World Obstacle has no right to include adventure racing in the merger process with World Pentathlon/UIPM.
- The sport of adventure has no historic, sporting or cultural links with the sports of pentathlon or obstacle racing.
- The International Adventure Racing Association must be allowed to represent its sport at the international level.
These values have been recently endorsed by a global petition on this topic by the international adventure racing community, adventure racers from around the world.
We respectively ask that your national federation accepts our position on this matter and you vote against the inclusion of adventure racing in Motion EB 3 at the upcoming UIPM Congress. We also ask that World Pentathlon release all claims on the sport of Adventure Racing allowing the International Adventure Racing Association (IARA) to progress its work in developing the sport.
We appreciate that many national Pentathlon federations may not be fully aware and briefed around this topic. It is our understanding that a second motion (GBR 2) has been proposed requesting further discussion and debate around this topic during your annual convention. We encourage you to support that motion and take the time to understanding what is happening with World Obstacle, the merger and how this impacts you and other organisations and sports like adventure racing.
Thank you for considering this matter, and if you require any information, please feel free to make contact with us. We will openly answer any of your questions.
Yours in adventure racing,
Cormac MacDonnell Lisa de Speville
Chairperson General Administration
International Adventure Racing Association
contact@internationaladventureracing.org
www.internationaladventureracing.org
ATTACHMENTS:
- UIPM Congress 2024 Motion EB 3
- IARA Position statement
- UIPM Congress 2024 Motion GBR 2
UIPM Congress 2024 Motion EB 3
UIPM Congress 2024 Motion GBR 2
