The AIPS Congress

The 2010 A.I.P.S. Congress, staged in Antalya, Turkey was the 73rd such gathering in the history of the International Sports Media Association.

A Successful Congress

A Successful Congress

The 73rd Congress was well attended and worked through a busy schedule with John Iaboni as Canada’s official delegate to the sessions.
Among the men and women of different race, religion, language, talents and titles, there is a common bond that makes the annual AIPS Congress something special. A passion for sport. And a commitment for communicating that passion to sports fans around the world.
The 73rd AIPS Congress brought sports media members from a record 109 national sports journalist associations to Turkey for five days of meetings, presentations, panels, lunches and dinners.
In a period when the North American media industry is facing adversity, dealing with both an ailing global economy and trying to keep pace with a fast-growing information highway that frequently creates new routes for presenting news, insight and commentary, the AIPS has recorded several victories. For journalists from economically-challenged countries, it means being able to afford being a member of AIPS (outside of North America, an AIPS card carries considerable clout with sports journalists being granted access to Olympics, world championships and other major international sporting events). For media outlets which face shrinking travel budgets, it means negotiating deals with world governing bodies to provide free wireless access and accommodations at discounted rates at major competitions. And it means developing a highly professional, multi-language website (www.aipsmedia.com) that reflects the increasing importance of the internet.
“We’ve opened a new era, just at a particularly difficult time for the world of information,’’ said AIPS President Gianni Merlo, a long-time amateur sport and Olympics beat writer from Italy.. “Our work and its philosophy is undergoing a rapid transformation, and as a result, our association must be at the forefront.’’
Given the passion of the people involved, that’s looking more and more like a slam dunk.

The 74th Congress, in 2011, will be staged in Seoul, Korea.