Euromeetings to withdraw all its recommendations

Euromeetings was initially founded with the intent to improve the yearly one day meetings calendar and to reach certain minimum standards with regards to how a one day meeting should be run. Over the time, Euromeetings made a number recommendations that were based on long discussions between all members. These recommendations were and are felt to be in the best interest of the sport and the athletes. For instance, Euromeetings recommended minimum standards in hotels, the introduction of prize money or the payment of minimum travel allowances. Some meetings based their behaviour on these recommendations, some did not. No meeting has ever been „punished“ for intrepreting a recommendation differently or even not following it at all. Mostly, this has to do with the fact that Euromeetings is a very lose association of organisers and does have absolutely no means to impose any decision/recommendation on its members, except that they must pay their annual membership fee.

On 24 June, the Tribunal Cantonal de Vaud, has in a provisional injunction asked Athletissima Lausanne, a member of Euromeetings, to include Hind Dehiba Chahyd in its 1500 m field. The decision was largely based on the fact that the judge could not rule out – in the short period of time given and with the little documentation he was provided with due to this short time period – that Euromeetings had acted as a cartel by giving recommendations to its members, namely recommending to not invite athletes that have caused negative publicity or otherwise damaged the sport.

Euromeetings never has regarded itself as having any authority on meetings, but rather as an „advisor“, especially for meetings that have less professional staff than others. With the injunction, the Swiss court puts a doubt on whether the members of Euromeetings may decide at their sole discretion on how to run their meetings or not. The Board of Euromeetings cannot ignore this and wishes to make it clear that each meeting organiser is free to organise its meeting within the rules and regulations set by the IAAF, the Confederations and the National Federations. Therefore and herewith, Euromeetings withdraws all its recommendations to member meetings with immediate effect. In future, Euromeetings will continue discussing the most pressing issues in one day athletics, but will refrain from any formal recommendation, so that there is no doubt that each meeting decides on its own.

Rajne Söderberg, President of Euromeetings