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  • Writer's pictureBC Functional Fitness
    • Jan 1, 2020
    • 3 min read

Sports vs Companies - What is the BCFFSA?

The BC Functional Fitness Sports Association is the first not for profit provincial sports organization (PSO) under the national sports organization (NSO) the Canadian Functional Fitness Federation which operates under the International Functional Fitness Sports Association - IF3.

What is a National Sport Organization?

National Sport Organizations (NSOs) - sometimes referred to as National Sport Federations (NSFs) - are the national governing bodies for given sport in Canada. These organizations serve many important functions, including:

  • governing all aspects of a sport within Canada;

  • managing their high performance programs;

  • selecting and managing their national teams;

  • implementing national initiatives to develop and promote their sport;

  • sanctioning national level competitions and tournaments;

  • providing professional development for coaches and officials in their sport; and,

  • proposing and supporting bids for international competitions in Canada.

The SPORT of Functional Fitness

From the IF3: The International Functional Fitness Federation (iF3) is a non-profit organization that serves as the international governing body for competitive functional fitness. Our goal is to increase safety and fairness in functional fitness competitions through the implementation of a standardized rulebook, clear movement standards, written safety guidelines for event organizers, training for judges, and increased competitive opportunities for athletes. We offer sanctioning for competitions who follow our rulebook, movement standards, and safety guidelines. We love functional fitness as a competitive sport and want to promote and grow this movement around the world.


The Important Difference between SPORT and Private Company

It can be very confusing trying to differentiate between a SPORT and a private company. Private companies are NOT governing bodies! They are for profit companies who make their own rules. Very commonly these companies will follow sport guidelines, but they'll utilize slightly different rules.


The easiest example of that for a Canadian to understand would be with Olympic Hockey vs the NHL:


Governing body: International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) - aka Olympic Hockey


Here are some more examples...





How do sports governing bodies work?

A national sporting federation (NF), also known as a National Governing Body (NGB), is a sports governing body that has regulatory and sanctioning functions within their country. This includes disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on which events are sanctioned. An official NF is recognized by the International Federation (IF) to operate in their country. There is only one official IF for any given sport and only one official NF in each country, as recognized by the IF. Every sport that is officially recognized has a governing body, called an international federation (IF), that defines the way that the sport operates. The IF creates a common set of rules, rankings and procedures (such as safety and anti-doping rules) and organizes international competitions. Promotion of the sport is also a function of international federations. National federations have the same objectives as an international federation, but within the scope of one country. They support local clubs, competitions and associations and are generally responsible for national teams. National Olympic Committees (NOC) and National Paralympic Committees are both a type of NF, as they are responsible for a country’s participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively.


Current Federations

There are 40+ national federations recognized by the IF3 around the world. See the IF3 website for the full list.




Why does all this matter?

Even if you're not interested in competing in the 'sport' of Functional Fitness, it's continued development into becoming an internationally recognized sport opens doors for coaches and athletes of every age and ability. Having a recognized and legitimate sport allows clubs access to additional funding and opportunities to work with the development of Functional Fitness with youth.


Youth Participation

The Government of Canada encourages sport participation and physical activity through strategic investments in Canada's sport system. These investments include funding to help children and youth and under-represented groups (for examples: women and girls, persons with a disability and Aboriginal peoples) through a number of activities managed by Sport Canada.

Financial Support for Organizations In 2018-2019, Sport Canada provided approximately $3.4 million to specifically promote participation in sport for children and youth through the following organizations: ParticipACTION, Motivate Canada, Physical Health Education Canada, Canadian Tire Jumpstart,Go KidSport, and Le Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie.

National Sport Organizations, National Multisport Service Organizations and Canadian Sport Centres and Institutes support sport development through training and competitive sport.


Help develop the sport

Register as a Functional Fitness club under the BCFFSA to help support it's growth, and gain access to all kinds of opportunities to help bring health and functional fitness to British Columbian youth and schools.

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