SPORT 1913 - 2013

part two_CHAPTER 6

blocks, the CSIT unmistakably spoke for the West. In the shadow of the Cold War, in the wake of the Soviet Union, the so called peo- ple’s democracies of Eastern Europe were obliged to strange from the international worker sport movement which caused great disappointment in the West. Poland, however, took part in the International for as long as it could; indeed, the 1947 CSIT Congress was held inWarsaw. Although the communist ath- letes of France, Italy and Finland, for example, formed an exception, the most important members of the CSIT were Western Social Democrats. So the CSIT was to play a less sig- nificant role than its founders had hoped. Ideological schism prevented it from en- tering into dialogue with Eastern Europe. In fact, the ColdWar hindered the CSIT to grow to a worldwide organisation. In 1963 the number of its member unions was not higher than 14. The biggest was the ASKÖ with 340 000 mem- bers, the TUL and the FSGT had both ca. 290 000 members and the HAPOEL from Israel, 180 000 members (SASI–CSIT 1963, 23–27). Although the CSIT might have been a prisoner of the Cold War since the mid-1980s the po- litical climate began to change. Already in 1984 a delegation of the Soviet trade union sport organisation Profsport attended the CSIT Congress in Tampere, and since 1990 the Syndicate Sport of Russia is a full member. From 1987 to the present, the amount of the From Europe to Other Continents for Sport for All

member unions of the CSIT has increased from 16 to 35 full members. Most of the new members were from former communist coun- tries, but many African unions have joined as well. While the old LSI/SASI as well as the CSIT until the 1980’s was predominantly a Eu- ropean movement, a quarter of the member unions of the modern CSIT are representing other continents. The image of global organ- isation is added by the fact that most of the candidate and applicant members of the CSIT are outside of Europe. (http://www.csit.tv/ en/menu_main/about_us/members) The aim of the worker sport movement has never been to compete in top level inter- national sports across its entire spectrum at least and, indeed, that doing so would be un- necessary. Notwithstanding some CSIT affili- ates have proved extremely high competitive standards, too. As we know, the CSIT is mere- ly a platform of SPORT FOR ALL, as were the worker sport organisations of old times, too. In 1986 the CSIT was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (http:// www.csit.tv/files/doc/Diverses/ioc-recogni- tion1986.pdf) and three years later, in 1989, it was admitted as an official member of the Commission of Sports for All of the IOC. This is without question one of the most important sport political breakthroughs the CSIT has ever experienced. The goals of peace and solidarity of the international worker sport movement have remained timely from one decade to the next. The worker sport movement fulfils a central

task within the international sport movement in carrying these banners and in acting as a representative of the organised worker move- ment. This role becomes all the more impor- tant, the finer the foothold which democratic principles gain within the national sports unions and in the international sports policy. Traditionally, the worker sport move- ment has a strong link with other worker or- ganisations and thereby, for example, in many countries the sport movement and the trade union movement have a tradition of good co- operation, say, in the promoting of mass and employee sports. Besides, the fundamental aims of worker sports have always tended in the direction of exercising a physical culture policy that is in harmony with the needs of the people at large. By far the greatest challenge confronting the CSIT since the collapse of the Communist rule has been helping the countries in Eastern Europe when they started to build new sport networks to replace the old communist led machinery. Whilst the East European nations were extremely successful in the world’s com- petitive arenas, in reality, despite their propa- ganda, they neglected the exercise of masses. In practice, sports clubs were usually con- trolled from above, e.g. by the army or other governmental institutions, big state owned factories, universities etc. The remodelling of the physical culture and sport in the former communist countries has been a huge under- taking; and the process is still going on. An organisation like the CSIT has the knowledge,

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