Lausanne, Switzerland, February 12, 2023 – World Obstacle announced today an open meeting to present and discuss options for the establishment of a volunteer working group to codify the sport of adventure racing worldwide. This initiative starts the process to provide democratic, representative governance of the athletes, by the athletes, for the athletes.

The meeting will be held on Saturday February 18th at 14.00 Central European Time via zoom. All parties interested in collaborating to further the sport of adventure racing are invited to attend. Please email [email protected] for details and the agenda.

The idea to form an international federation for adventure racing was first discussed in 1997 at the third Xventure Race in the ESPN X-Games in San Diego. The initiative was paused in 2007 after the major races and broadcasts left the sport, and was restarted with the founding of FISO in 2014.

The return of the Eco-Challenge “World’s Toughest Race” on Amazon Prime in 2020 invigorated adventure racing globally and provided impetus to re-engage the community to take an interest in shaping their own destiny, free from the constraints of commercial interests.

FISO represents a governance model that guarantees autonomy and independence for each sub-sport, including Adventure Racing, similar to the disciplines that are governed by the international athletics, aquatics, cycling, and canoe/kayak federations.