Open brief en mededeling aan alle ijszwemmers.
IISA Chair Ram Barkai:
Dear Frozen ones,
I am sure many of you have been taken by surprise by this “initiative”. For those of you who are unaware, the people behind this are apparently trying to set up another international Ice Swimming federation to challenge IISA. At a time when the Ice Swimming community has united as never before under the IISA banner, it is extremely disappointing to see people who have been previously supported and trusted by IISA seemingly using that trust to try to personally benefit from it.
This initiative appears to be driven by Piotr Czyż from Glogow, Poland. Piotr worked hard to win the IISA 2022 World Championship, and, as a result, he and his team were trusted by IISA. They received free L1 accreditation and were allowed into the IISA admin system to learn the intricacies of running an IISA World Championship and the relationship appeared to be working well. However, from the evening after the last awards ceremony, Piotr didn’t return any calls from IISA or IISA Poland. It also appears clear from social media that Piotr used the IISA World Championship to establish his credentials, and those of his team, to try and establish his own initiative for monetary purposes.
I have spoken to IISA Poland and Leszek Naziemiec (the previous IISA Poland Chair). They are both committed to continue to build the wonderful work done by IISA Poland that has allowed so many Polish swimmers to discover and excel in the ICE and we at IISA Global are equally committed to them.
So therefore, let there be no doubt. IISA Global and IISA Poland do not, and will not, recognize this new so-called federation in any form. Any attempt by this organisation to use the IISA website (or any other IISA source) to formulate its own systems or rules will be dealt with legally. IISA® and The International Ice Swimming Association® and, by association, its products and ideas, are trademark protected in the UK and Europe. IISA therefore has the right to take legal action against the initiative if there are any abuses of our intellectual property rights and we shall not hesitate to do so.
The reasons behind taking such action are two-fold. Firstly, Ice Swimming is stronger as a unified community. We can go further, do more, and achieve greater world recognition if we all stand and swim together. Secondly, and more importantly, is the reason IISA was established in the first place, safety in the ice. Through the efforts of our IISA community, and years of experience, we have formulated the rules and standards that keep all of us safe in the most hostile environments. Any divergence by others from those standards, for commercial gain or otherwise, potentially puts lives at risk and therefore also the future of our sport.
The people who are driving this initiative are therefore suspended with immediate effect from IISA. Accordingly, they will not be able to use any IISA systems legally, and their records and BIO will be hidden and inaccessible. Furthermore, we would respectfully ask any IISA members or associates not to assist or support them in their efforts.
In order to build on the incredible success of the 5th World Championships, IISA is now busy collecting feedback with a view to rapidly growing IISA to meet the increased demand for safe and also competitive Ice Swimming all over the world. Media interest around the world has been phenomenal. As such, IISA is already working on organising a General Assembly of all IISA Country Chairs with a view to forming IISA Continental Associations/Federations in each continent with a view to assisting each other on an international scale. This will inevitably lead to various other exciting initiatives designed to bring the Ice Swimming community even closer.
We will be keeping you informed of all these developments as they progress; we are so excited about the future of our incredible sport and that you are all a part of it.
And of course, always…
KEEP THE SAFETY AND INTEGRITY IN THE ICE
See you all in the ICE
On behalf of the IISA Global Board
Ram Barkai
IISA Founder / Chair