The modern Olympic Games are the world's leading international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition, with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place. The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994, they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and the British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. The event removed the word British from its title for the 1978 Games and has maintained its current name ever since.
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge is the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, certification of athletic facilities, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected to the four-year position in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 for a second four-year term, and then again in 2023 for a third four-year term.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up the ITF's membership.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code, whose provisions are enforced by the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport. The aims of the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention and the United States Anti-Doping Agency are also closely aligned with those of WADA.
The World Squash Federation is the international federation for squash, an indoor racket sport. The WSF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the International Federation for squash, and is also a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations and the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games. They may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and the training of coaches and officials at a national level within their geographies.
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, para surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) is an organisation for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sports.
The Philippine Sports Commission is an agency of the Philippine government which tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee, a privately-ran organization which enjoys autonomy from the government.
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. Approximately 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 302 events in 28 sports across 41 disciplines. Cycling BMX racing and 10 km (6.2 mi) marathon swimming were included as official medal events for the first time in history. The Marshall Islands, Montenegro and Tuvalu made their Summer Olympic debuts in Beijing.
Athletics competitions at the 2009 Pacific Mini Games were held at the Bank of the Cook Islands National Stadium in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, between September 22–26, 2009.
The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC) is the Tuvaluan organization recognised as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2006, Tuvalu satisfied the IOC's criterion of a minimum five national sports federations recognised by their international sports federations, which included basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, boxing and table tennis.
The International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) is the world governing body for cerebral palsy football. It was founded in January 2015, when the governance of the sport transferred from the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) to the IFCPF. It is a member organization, with members from five different continental zones. The IFCPF has relationships with other international association football sporting bodies. It organizes tournaments for the sport, and is in charge of Paralympic Games inclusion and participation. The IFCPF is a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) signatory, and international footballers may be subject to out-of-competition doping controls.
Systematic doping of Russian athletes has resulted in 51 Olympic medals stripped from Russia, four times the number of the next highest, and more than 30% of the global total. Russia has the most competitors who have been caught doping at the Olympic Games in the world, with more than 150.
The International Teqball Federation is the governing body for the sport of teqball and para teqball. FITEQ is responsible for the organisation of teqball's major international tournaments, notably the Teqball World Championships.
The International Testing Agency, often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers or any other anti-doping organisation requiring support. The organisation was created in 2018 under the supervision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote independence, expertise and transparency in the global fight against doping. Its headquarters are located in the city of Lausanne in Switzerland.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games was a multi-sport event held in Birmingham, England, from 28 July to 8 August 2022. It was the first time that Birmingham hosted the games and also marked England's third time hosting the Commonwealth Games after London 1934 and Manchester 2002, and the seventh Games in the United Kingdom after London and Manchester, Cardiff 1958, Edinburgh 1970 and 1986, and Glasgow 2014.
The Norfolk Island Amateur Sports & Commonwealth Games Association (NIASCGA) is a National Olympic Committee. It is an associate member of the Oceania National Olympic Committees. It represents Norfolk Island in sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games, the Pacific Games, and the Pacific Mini Games. However, the association does not participate in the Olympic Games. The organization is also a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Code.
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