Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports

The Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports ( FIRS International Roller Sports Federation ) is the international umbrella organization of various sports on wheels, particularly roller hockey, roller skating, inline skating and inline hockey. Inline Skater Hockey is not organized in the FIRS, but in a separate world governing body, the IISHF.

The association includes approximately 100 national associations and five continental federations. It was in 1984 recognized by the International Olympic Committee and is a member of the World Association Sport Sport Accord.

History

The association was founded in April 1924 in Montreux, Switzerland, as Federation Internationale de Patinage a Roulettes ( FIPR ) by Fred Renkewitz and Otto Myer, at the time IOC Chancellor. The founding members were Switzerland, France, England and Germany, Fred Renkewitz became the first president (1924 - 1960). Purpose of the Association was the organization of international competitions in roller hockey. Under the presidency of the Spaniard Victoriano Oliveras de la Riva (1964 to 1973) the FIPR changed its name to Federation Internationale de Roller Skating ( FIRS ). Mid-1960s the Association by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been recognized as an international governing body for roller sports. In June 2000, the FIRS replaced the word Skating on their behalf under Sports.

World Championships

The first world championship in Roller Hockey took place in Stuttgart in 1936, the first World Cup in high-speed rolling one year later in 1937 in Monza, Italy. 1947 hosted the FIPR the first World Cup in Artistic Roller Skating in Washington, USA. Since then, the FIRS World Championships take place in these three disciplines regularly. The first Inline Hockey World Championship organized by the FIRS in 1995 in Chicago, USA.