FIPPA Newsletter - October 2006.
Welcome to this edition of the FIPPA Newsletter.
Lolo Ibern - Secretary General of the Catalan Sport Secretariat
Congratulations on your appointment as Sports Minister. What previous positions did you hold?
I have been an Olympic water-polo player (Mexico 1968) and coach of the Spanish team from 1979 to 1984,
participating in Moscow 80 and Los Angeles 84.
As an officer, sports director of the Municipality of Barcelona (1985-90), member of FINA and LEN (1988-1994),
general manager of the Barceloneta swimming club (1998-2001), advisor of the Catalan Sports Council
and lately delegate of the Catalan Sport Secretary in charge of clubs and federations.
What sports did (do) you play personally?
Swimming, of course. Also skiing and gymnastics. I do my best to be in good physical shape.
What is your vision for the future of sport in Catalonia?
I think that Catalan sport is in a very good moment. It has a strong health condition and, more important,
there are many possibilities of growth in the near future.
How does Pitch and Putt fit into that vision?
Pitch and Putt is a sport that in Catalonia every year has more practitioners and is growing continuously.
Therefore such an interesting activity will certainly occupy in our sport environment the important place it deserves.
Every time a more important place, I am sure of this.
What is your opinion of FCPP/ACPP and the sport of Pitch and Putt?
We absolutely recognise what they have done as an association and now they do as a federation.
The sport has been well developed but there are, still, important possibilities of growth.
There is a good leadership and I am convinced that we will continue receiving good news from
Catalan Pitch and Putt in the near future.
Do you believe EPPA and FIPPA have a future?
Yes, I think so. You should continue working because this sport has many growth possibilities.
It is a Sport, in capital letters, that is practised in the open air, is available to people of all ages,
is attracting more and more women and has a very good social image. It is a sport with a bright future
and the organisations related to it should continue doing their best to make this development possible.
What support do you envisage the Catalan goverment providing to FIPPA?
We will provide our total collaboration and respect at the institutional level. We will, of course,
discuss this with the Catalan Federation and we will be besides them in all that is needed.
What will you expect from FIPPA in return?
The return has to be for the sport itself. I do not expect anything specific. We will only ask to continue
working for the benefit and progress of Pitch and Putt and this, in fact, will be good for everybody.
How do you see the development of Pitch and Putt in the rest of Spain, now that the RFEG has
declared this sport as a “golf modality” and they want to organise it inside their structure? Is there any
danger for Catalan Pitch and Putt?
The Real Federacion Española de Golf may decide what they think is convenient. We cannot interfere with this.
We respect their decisions but we are legally entitled to make our own decision (in Catalonia) if we think that
they are more positive for this sport.
How do you see Pitch and Putt interacting with the world of golf - in Spain and further afield?
I believe that this is not going to be decided by the public administrations. This is going to be decided
by the practitioners and the sport organisations. I am not at all in favour of monopolies, therefore this is a
question that will be solved by the players themselves.
Would you advise FIPPA to seek affiliation to world sporting bodies such as GAISF?
I would think that this would be logical and adequate some day.
What marketing and promotion advice would you give to Pitch and Putt?
Pitch and Putt has many marketing possibilities because of its image, the place where it is played,
the number of practitioners, the important growth possibilities, the role of the women in the sport…
In brief, it has many different aspects that will make it possible to let people know about it.
(translated by Jose Maria Anzizu)
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