 |
 |
This is written on our penultimate day in the Paris office. By the time you read it, we shall be in our new premises in Lausanne, Switzerland. A long and rich period of FAI history has come to an end. A new era is dawning. From the pioneering days of aviation at the beginning of the 20th century, FAI has been closely associated with our Founder Member, the Aero Club of France, which has just celebrated its centenary in grand style. We salute the Aero Club of France and its dashing Presdient, Gérard Feldzer. By moving from Paris to Lausanne we are not denying our past. Far from it: the Secretary General of the Aero Club of France, Max Armanet, is heading a new FAI initiative to preserve our aeronautical heritage. Instead, we are recognising the way the world is changing and laying sound foundations for future prosperity and growth. By placing ourselves at the centre of the world sporting movement, in close proximity to the International Olympic Committee and to 14 other international sporting federations, we are making a powerful statement to the world: air sports are sports like others, with talented athletes dedicated to improving their performance. Air sports deserve air time on television. This in turn will, in due time, bring in sponsorship money and enable us to reduce the financial burden on our members. To make this vision reality we must all work together. The FAI Air Sport Commissions must raise their ambitions and recognise that, as part of a greater whole, they stand to benefit more than in glorious isolation. The World Air Games present a great opportunity for us all and there are encouraging signs that the 2nd Games in 2001 will attract wide TV coverage. In February, at the Olympic Museum on the lakeside in Lausanne, we shall be holding a symposium for media representatives of Air Sport Commissions, at which leading athletes, TV executives and other guest speakers will explain how best to improve the media profile of air sports. The days are long gone when we could practise our sports in a little corner, far from the public gaze. The public's eyes are now on us, whether we like it or not. We must present ourselves in an attractive way and win their support and affection. There is more to the Lausanne move than meets the eye. It is a move to the centre of world sport. To a future in which the digital TV viewer is as likely to be interacting with competition aerobatics as with, say, golf or tennis....
|
