President's Report
 His Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC President, and Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., Ph.D., IFBB President, at the 2000 European Men's Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland To all the Officials of the National Federations of the IFBB: As you know, during the past 52 years we have collectively faced numerous challenges. Given their enormity, both in number and difficulty, I am often asked, "Which was the toughest challenge of all?" Without hesitation, my reply is always the same, "The struggle to obtain Olympic recognition". And as most of you know, after more than a half-century of perseverance and dedication, the IFBB received recognition in accordance with Rule 29 of the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Climbing this mountain together required tremendous perseverance, dedication, and teamwork, from the highest officials to the rank-and-file members, but eventually we reached our destination. Now that we are there, we intend to stay there through our unswerving commitment to following the rules of the IOC, as well as the Olympic spirit that gave birth to them. To that end, the IFBB has implemented a very tough anti-doping program that meets the strictest standards of the IOC.
Like every other challenge we have confronted and surmounted, the successful implementation of our new anti-doping program will be a joint effort among the thousands of members who represent our 172 National Federations. The IFBB will spend a great deal of money this year implementing this program around the world, including sending IFBB officials to give lectures educating member-countries on the new procedures and standards. Leading the effort will be Professor Dr. Eduardo Henrique De Rose, President of the International Sports Medicine Association, and Dr. Bob Goldman, Chairman of the IFBB Medical Commission. Both of these highly dedicated officials will continue to supervise drug testing at championships in many countries around the world.
I have no doubt that the IFBB will succeed in this effort, because it has always succeeded in the past. Honorable competition and constant innovation are the hallmarks of both bodybuilding and the IFBB, and they have made us one of the most popular international amateur sports federations in the world today. So impressed was IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch with our efforts to date that he suggested we organize an international bodybuilding championship in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the IOC. We took his advice and successfully organized the European Men's Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in November, which brought together competitors from more than 40 European countries. President Samaranch made a personal appearance at this important international event, along with several other members of the IOC, and he declared that he was very satisfied with our federation and our sport.
While we continue to focus on these exciting developments in contest presentation and doping control, yet another new chapter in the IFBB is starting to unfold. We are now taking the unprecedented action of completing a plan to work towards gaining official status as a demonstration sport at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. What an appropriate stage, given that the Greek Olympians were the first true bodybuilders. It is important for our members to understand that the official recognition granted to the IFBB under Rule 29 of the Olympic Charter is not the final word of the IOC. We continue to work towards receiving the highest possible respect from the IOC by operating in accordance with its principles. Along those same lines, we will also step up our efforts to improve the operation of the IFBB in general, so that it continues to work efficiently and effectively for all of the members who participate in it. As we discover new ways to increase productivity through knowledge, our federation continues to grow: today, we have 172 member-nations. Consider that when the IFBB was founded by my brother Joe and I back in 1947 in Montreal, Canada, we had only two members: Canada and the United States. Since then, we have built this federation with the same diligence with which our members build their bodies in the gym. If our sport and our federation exemplify one thing, it is that there is no substitute for hard work.
Along with our current position of leadership come new opportunities and responsibilities, which we must not only accept but also embrace. One notable example is using the Internet to spread our message to the very corners of the Earth. The IFBB website, IFBB.com, now receives close to a million visitors every month, a far cry from the 5,000 monthly visitors we were getting when we started the site in October 1998. As we continue looking to the future, we must never lose sight of the core values that have made us successful over the last 52 years. Chief among them are integrity and innovation, in order that we may satisfy our millions of fans around the world while continuing to work with our national federation committees to build an ever-expanding IFBB. Because of the positive influence the IFBB has exerted, millions of individuals around the world now exercise regularly in order to keep fit. That number will only grow, since hundreds of thousands of youngsters train regularly, either to compete in the sport of bodybuilding or to improve their strength for participation in another sport. We are enormously appreciative of the continuing support of the IFBB by all of the affiliated national federations. The future is filled with amazing opportunities, and our passion for promoting a healthy, fit lifestyle for people the world over is as strong as ever. Thank your for your loyalty, thank you for your support, and thank you for your friendship.
Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., Ph.D.
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