World Athletics Day 2024, History, Objectives & Significance

Every year World Athletics Day is celebrated on 7 May by people all over the world. The main objective of this day is to raise awareness of fitness among children and young and encourage them to play sports, especially athletics. The day was introduced in 1996 by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). IAAF is an international governing body for sports and athletics established in 1912. World Athletics Day is celebrated with several athletic and sports competitions. Read this article for more details on World Athletics Day 2024 such as its history, significance, etc.

World Athletics Day 2024 Date

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World Athletics Day 2024 Overview

Objectives & Significance

World Athletics Day was introduced to serve many purposes in the field of athletics, including popularizing sports among youth. The day aims at encouraging and boosting  athletics to the point where it starts being considered the primary sport in schools and institutions in different parts of the world.  World Athletics Day is also about providing public awareness about athletics and spreading the importance of sporting activity among youngsters. Moreover, the day offers a platform to establish an important connection between the youth, sport, and environmental conservation.

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History

A need was felt by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for a platform to educate people, especially youths and children, about the importance of athletics. Thus World Athletics day was introduced in 1996 by the then IAAF president Primo Nebiolo and the first World Athletics Day was celebrated on May 7, 1966. The day was also introduced as a part of social responsibility project called ‘Athletic for a better world’ by the IAAF. See Richest Olympians in the World

IAAF – International Association of Athletics Federations

The World Athletics was established in Sweden in 1912 as International Amateur Athletic Federation. It was renamed as International Association of Athletics Federations from 2001 to 2019. Again, in 2019 its name was changed to World Athletics as it is known now. The association was established as an international governing body for the sport of athletics. The IAAF holds responsibility for managing athletics including road running, race walking,  cross-country running, ultra running, mountain running, etc. IAAF’s functions include creating competition programs, standardizing technical equipment and making a list of official world records. Here’s a brief history of how the IAAF came into existence.

After the completion of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Sweden, the process to found World Athletics began in Stockholm on July 18. 27 representatives from 17 countries’ athletic federations joined the meeting and agreed to meet again at a congress in Berlin, Germany, the following year to finalize the formation of IAAF.

In 1913, the congress formally completed the establishment of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), as it was called in earlier days. The association was headquartered in Stockholm from 1912 to 1946 and then in London from 1946 to 1993. it was later moved to Monaco, where it is currently located.

Celebration of World Athletics Day

The IAAF is responsible for sponsoring and organizing World Athletics Day every year. Many sporting events and seminars on educating the generation about the significance of athletics is organized by the association. In addition to this, the IAAF also arranges events to promote the importance of physical activity in the lives of people. Several schools and colleges all over the world celebrate the day by organizing their own sports competitions and encouraging the students to be a part of them.

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