WFSGI CO-CHAIRS WORLD ATHLETICS WORKING GROUP ON RULES GOVERNING SHOE TECHNOLOGY

Article From：WFSGI

 

 

WFSGI President & CEO, Robbert de Kock is Co-chair of the World Athletics’ Working Group on Athletic Shoes (WGAS) with World Athletics Council Member, Sylvia Barlag. The WGAS met for the first time on July 22, 2020. The goal of the WGAS is to scope and oversee studies around shoe technology, exploring definitions to provide clarity to athletes about the shoes they are able to compete in, creating a robust certification and control process and providing expert advice and recommendations to the World Athletics Competition Commission on the future direction of World Athletics’ Rules and Regulations concerning elite athlete shoes for the long-term.  

 

The WGAS is made up of WFSGI and World Athletics Council representatives, 6 representatives from manufacturers, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Nike, and Puma, 1 representative from the Athlete Commission and 1 lead representatives from each of the three work streams.

 

WFSGI President & CEO, Robbert de Kock, commented ‘Athletic footwear is an important category for many WFSGI members and we are therefore pleased that World Athletics is seeking industry input on their future rule amendments. WFSGI will continue to represent the interests of the industry during the WGAS process to ensure that the future rule amendments strike the correct balance between innovation and protecting the integrity of the sport. We thank World Athletics for their inclusive approach to the future evolution of the rules and look forward to working constructively with them going forward.’ 

 

This week, World Athletics has also announced further amendments to their rules around shoe technology, based on the ongoing discussions with the WGAS. The revisions include:  

 

Clarification of the position for new shoes that have been approved to date;

 

As an ongoing obligation, athletes, their authorised representative or their shoe manufacturer must continue to submit shoe specifications and, if requested, new shoes for examination by our independent expert;

 

Approved shoes to be made available prior to an international competition for distribution to any uncontracted elite athlete via an Athletic Shoe Availability Scheme. The Working Group on Athletic Shoes will develop this scheme including timelines, elite athlete criteria, numbers of pairs of shoes required and method of distribution.

 

Confirmation that the manufacturer commits to making the new shoe available via a scheme to provide shoes to unsponsored elite athletes for free and/or for purchase depending on whether they are qualified or an unqualified athlete who benefits from a place at World Athletics Series events or Olympic Games;

 

Provision of information concerning the availability of the shoe for other unsponsored elite athletes who need a pair of shoes prior to competition. This is in keeping with the principle of shoes being reasonably available to athletes. As a priority item, in its forthcoming meeting we will work with the working group and World Federation of Sports Goods Industry to design an ‘Athletic Shoe Availability Scheme’ to deliver this. The scheme will cover process, criteria, numbers of pairs of shoes required, method of distribution and when the shoe needs to be available from (our position, which has been generally accepted by manufacturers, is for one month prior to international competition).