The World Games, first held in 1981, are an international multi-sport event, meant for sports, or disciplines or events within a sport, that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The World Games are organised and governed by the International World Games Association (IWGA), recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The World Games are held every four years, one year after the Summer Olympic Games. The next host city will be Birmingham, United States in 2022 edition.
 | |
| First event | 1981 – Santa Clara, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Occur every | 4 years |
| Last event | 2017 – Wrocław, Poland |
| Purpose | To conduct multi-sport events for sports and disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games |
| President | José Perurena López |
| Website | TheWorldGames.org |
A number of the sports that were on the programme of the World Games have been discontinued because they are now included in the programme of the Olympic Games, for example badminton, beach volleyball, trampolining, rugby sevens, taekwondo, triathlon, and women's weightlifting. Other sports have been Olympic sports in the past (like tug of war).
A number of sports that are held regularly at the World Games are acrobatic gymnastics, ultimate, orienteering, karate, powerlifting, tug of war, finswimming, squash, korfball, billiards, water skiing, and dance sport. The sports that are included in The World Games are limited by the facilities available in the host city; no new facilities may be constructed for the games.[a] Between 25 and 30 sports have been included in the official programme of the World Games. In addition, the IWGA, in coordination with the host city, can invite some sport to participate in the "invitational" programme.
To become part of the World Games programme, the sport must be widely spread in the world and the specific international sports federation must be a member of the IWGA. In each sport, only the best athletes or teams may participate, as determined by the international sports federations. In most classes, it is necessary to qualify by a top ranking at the world championships or a qualification tournament to be able to participate.
Editions
| Year | Edition | Host City | Host Country | Opened by | Athletes | Countries | Official Sports | Invitational Sports | Official Events | Top of the Medal Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1 | Santa Clara[2] |  United States | Kim Un-yong | 1745 | 58 | 15 | 1 | 104 | United States |
| 1985 | 2 | London |  United Kingdom | Charles Palmer | 1227 | 57 | 20 | 1 | 134 |  Italy |
| 1989 | 3 | Karlsruhe |  West Germany | Richard von Weizsäcker | 1206 | 50 | 17 | 2 | 112 | Italy |
| 1993 | 4 | The Hague |  Netherlands | Beatrix of the Netherlands | 2264 | 72 | 22 | 4 | 155 | Germany |
| 1997 | 5 | Lahti |  Finland | Martti Ahtisaari | 1379 | 73 | 22 | 6 | 164 | United States |
| 2001 | 6 | Akita |  Japan | Atsuko Toyama | 1968 | 93 | 22 | 5 | 140 |  Russia |
| 2005 | 7 | Duisburg | Germany | Otto Schily | 2464 | 93 | 27 | 6 | 169 | Russia |
| 2009 | 8 | Kaohsiung |  Chinese Taipei1 | Ma Ying-jeou | 2536 | 101 | 26 | 5 | 165 | Russia |
| 2013 | 9 | Cali |  Colombia | Angelino Garzón | 2982 | 103 | 26 | 5 | 171 | Italy |
| 2017 | 10 | Wrocław |  Poland | Thomas Bach | 3168 | 102 | 27 | 4 | 199 | Russia |
| 2022 | 11 | Birmingham | United States | |||||||
| 2025 | 12 | Chengdu |  China |
1 The Republic of China (Taiwan) is recognised as Chinese Taipei by International World Games Association and the majority of international organisations it participates in due to political considerations and Cross-Strait relations with the People's Republic of China.
Sports/disciplines
These were the official sports/disciplines of the 2017 World Games programme.[3]
Artistic and dance sports
- Acrobatic gymnastics
- Aerobic gymnastics
- Artistic roller skating
- Dancesport (Latin, salsa, standard)
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Trampoline (synchronized, double mini-trampoline)
- Tumbling
Ball sports
- Beach handball[4]
- Canoe polo
- Fistball
- Korfball
- Floorball
- Lacrosse
- Squash
Martial arts
- Ju-jitsu (Duo, Fighting, Ne-Waza)
- Karate (Kata, Kumite)
- Sumo
- Muay Thai
Precision sports
- Archery (Field, Target)
- Billiards
- Pool
- Snooker
- Boules sports (Boule lyonnaise, Pétanque, Raffa)
- Bowling (tenpin bowling)
Strength sports
- Powerlifting
- Tug of war (Men outdoor, women indoor)
Trend sports
- Air sports (Parachuting, glider acrobatics, paramotoring)
- Finswimming
- Flying disc (Ultimate)
- Inline hockey
- Lifesaving (Pool)
- Orienteering
- Roller speed skating (track, road)
- Sport climbing
- Water ski and wakeboard
Invitational sports
- American football
- Indoor rowing
- Kickboxing
- Speedway
All-time medal table
As of the 2017 World Games
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 153 | 147 | 141 | 441 |
| 2 | United States[b] | 145 | 129 | 105 | 379 |
| 3 | Germany[c] | 138 | 111 | 140 | 389 |
| 4 | Russia[d] | 137 | 110 | 72 | 319 |
| 5 |  France | 103 | 101 | 105 | 309 |
| 6 | China | 69 | 55 | 28 | 152 |
| 7 | Great Britain[b][e] | 59 | 62 | 91 | 212 |
| 8 | Japan | 55 | 38 | 53 | 146 |
| 9 |  Ukraine[f] | 42 | 47 | 37 | 126 |
| 10 |  Spain | 41 | 43 | 42 | 126 |
| Totals (10 nations) | 942 | 843 | 814 | 2599 | |
- ^ This rule, however, may be honored in the breach. The main stadium for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama will be Protective Stadium, set for completion in 2021 as the new home of the American football team of the local University of Alabama at Birmingham.[1]
- ^ a b The 1997 bronze medalists in aerobics mixed pair were from Great Britain, not United States as stated in IWGA source.[11]
- ^ In 2017, Germany was stripped of a gold medal in women's bowling for doping. This table reflects the reallocation of medals for that event.[12]
- ^ The Soviet Union, which amassed 36 total medals in 1989, is counted separately from its successor states, including Russia. This is consistent with the separate counting of medals for other states that sub-divided into their constituent successor states following their initial participation in the World Games. These include Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic and Slovakia) and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
- ^ The 1981 mixed badminton title was won by a pair of players from Sweden and Great Britain. Both nations are counted as having won a gold medal.
- ^ In 2009, Ukraine was stripped of two gold medals in bodybuilding for doping, which are not included here.
See also
- Olympic Games
- Commonwealth Games
- Universiade
- African Games
- Asian Games
- European Games
- Pacific Games
- Pan American Games
References
- ^ Edgemon, Erin (2018-12-12). "Groundbreaking set for BJCC stadium". AL.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
- ^ "Santa Clara, USA 1981 Programme Sports". International World Games Association. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
- ^ "TWG2017 Documents". theworldgames.org. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ First time official sport in 2017.
- ^ "Results of the World Games". International World Games Association. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ "2009 Kaohsiung: Doping Violations". International World Games Association. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
- ^ "The World Games 2009 Kaosiung". International Sumo Federation. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
- ^ "The World Games 2013 Cali Medal Tally". sportresult.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ "International Sumo Federation – World Games". Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ^ "World Games I Results". United Press International. 29 July 1981.
- ^ "DYBO Health & Fitness". Retrieved 2019-10-16.
... multi British Sports Aerobics champions Helen Carpenter-Waters and Alastair Rates who became GB’s only ever medallists at World level
- ^ Butler, Nick (5 July 2018). "Bowler, kickboxer and indoor rower stripped of World Games medals for doping". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
External links
- Official website
- All-time Medal table
- The World Games 2017 Wrocław
