http://maigoc2007.sports.sina.com.cn 2007-04-29 MAIGOC
During the 2007 International SportsConvention held in Beijing， at the Association of International SportsFederation (AGFIS) Annual General Assembly held in the morning of 27 April， aftervigorous discussions and a majority of 52% votes out of 75 valid votes (total78 votes)， the International Dragon Boat Federation(IDBF) is accepted as formal member to the AGFIS.Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Vice Presidentas well as Association of Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees (ACOLOP)President Manuel Silvério， who participated as observer in the meeting，congratulated IDBF President Zhang Faqiang immediately after the result was announced.Zhang Faqiang also expressed appreciation toMacao continuous support to the IDBF， and is assuredof the motivating effects of the 4th East Asian Games for the sport，during which Dragon Boat was admitted in the sport program.
The InternationalDragon Boat Federation (IDBF) was established in 1991， with a totalof 56 member countries and regions at present.IDBF application for membership of the AGFIS was rejected in theAssociation General Assembly of last year.The admittance of IDBF to AGISF implies that the sport of Dragon Boat，which is deeply rooted in Chinese cultural and sports traditions， has takenanother step forward to the international level.
Other entities admitted to AGISFmembership are the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC)， World Darts Federation (WDF)， and the International Committee ofMediterranean Games.“It has beendiscussed during this convention with AGFIS， ACOLOP intention of applicationfor membership， and we will do our best to be admitted in the next General Assembly，”stated Manuel Silvério after the meeting.
Special Adviser to United NationsSecretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace， Adolf Ogi， has made akeynote speech at the Assembly， emphasizing on the significant role of Sport inrecent development， peace and harmony in the modern world.Aside from other issues discussed， the newcabinet of the AGISF was also elected in the Assembly.With no other candidates running forelection， Hein Verbruggen was re-elected as President of the Executive Board.
The GeneralAssociation of International Sports Federation (AGFIS) is an internationally representative association with 105members， composed of International Sport Federationsand various other sport associations (members as listed below).AGFIS President Hein Verbruggen is also IOCCoordination Commission Chairman for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
