The National Federations affiliated to the FIM took part in the very first digital edition of the FIM General Assembly, broadcasted from Geneva (Switzerland) on 29 and 30 January as part of FIM Family Week, regrouping the 2020 FIM and CONUs Board meetings and General Assemblies, as well as the 2021 Commissions Conference.
The following topics were submitted to the delegates of 80 national federations present during this online General Assembly which featured an electronic voting system:
FIM President: The report from the FIM President was unanimously approved. The main items addressed included the following: financial assistance provided to the FIM members; adaptation of sporting calendars; contracts signed with FIM Championships Promoters; information regarding the 2021-2022 seasons; Trial-E at European Games in Krakow, Poland in 2023; active participation in the FIA High Level Panel (HLP) for Road Safety meetings and postponement of « Euro 5 » standard implementation (European Commission); new promotional plan for Touring.
Election of three Board Members: 6 Candidats presented their candidatures. The delegates of the National Federations re-elected Mr Ignacio VERNEDA put forward by the Confederación Argentina de Motociclismo Deportivo (CAMOD) and the Real Federación Motociclista Español (RFME). Two new members were elected, namely Mr. Håkan LEEMAN, President of the Swedish Motorcycle and Snowmobile Association (SVEMO) and Mr Abdulrahman Al Mannai, President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation (QMMF).
Sports: The General Assembly agreed to create the FIM MiniGP World Series, FIM Vintage Motocross World Cup, FIM Trial Vintage Trophy, FIM Veteran Bajas Trophy, FIM Sand Race World Cup, FIM Enduro Vintage World Cup, FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and to make the FIM Enduro Women World Cup into a World Championship. The contract with WESS Promotion GmbH was signed and FIM and WESS will join forces to launch the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in 2021. The e-sport Working Group presented its first report.
Insurance: The international rider’s insurance programme was extended for 2021.
Finance: The General Assembly approved the 2019 Financial Statements and approved two versions of the 2021 Budget, i.e., one drafted assuming that a return to a normal situation would be possible and the second one taking into consideration the possibility that less sporting and non-sporting events would be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact.
Affiliations: The affiliations of Mozambique (FMAM) and Iraq (IQAMC) were approved. Israel is now represented by Israel Motorsport Federation (IMSF) following the expulsion of Automobile & Touring Club of Israel (MEMSI). The expulsion of the Canadian Motorcycle Association (CMA) was rejected as the majority of the two thirds votes cast was not met. To date, 115 FMNs are affiliated to the FIM.
Marketing and Communication: Launch of the new FIM website under the URL FIM-moto.com regrouping the FIM-Live & FIM-Family websites. The FIM Social Media Plan including inter alia a strategy plan and content planning was introduced to the General Assembly.
Amendments to the FIM Sporting Code: The General Assembly unanimously approved the amendments to the Sporting Code.
Amendments to the FIM Statutes and By-Laws: All amendments to the FIM Statutes and By-Laws were approved except a proposal put forward by the Hellenic Sporting Motorcyclists Federation (AMOTOE) relating to Regional Associations.
IFM (International Foundation for Motorcycling): The constitutive act of the Foundation was signed on 30 November 2020 by FIM President Mr Jorge Viegas and FIM Deputy CEO Mrs Françoise Emery. The first ever meeting of the IFM Board, composed of FIM and IFM President Mr Jorge Viegas, FIM Europe President Mr Martin De Graaff, FIM CEO Mr Tony Skillington, FIM Family Legend and former FIM CEO Mr Guy Maitre and multiple time FIM Grand Prix World Champion Mr Giacomo Agostini, will take place on 31 January 2021.
In addition, the CONU Presidents, the Commission Directors and the departments of the Administration presented progress reports on their respective activities.
FMN Anniversaries and FIM Awards and Recognitions: Eight FMNs were congratulated on their anniversaries: 10 years for Lebanese Motorcycles Club (LMC); 30 for Chinese Taipei Motor Sports Ltd (CTMS) and Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal (FMP); 50 for Federación Colombiana de Motociclismo (CFM) and Guam Motorcycle and ATV Corporation (GMAC); 70 for Federación Motociclista Venezolana (FMV) and Polski Zwiazek Motorowy (PZM) and 90 years for Latvian Motorcyclists Federation (LaMSF). Four Honorary memberships were also approved by the Assembly, namely Ms Nina Birjukova from CMS; Mr Graham Brodie from CCP; Mr Chris Ceyssens from CTL; Mr John Chatterton-Ross from CAP.
FIM Family Solidarity Trophy 2020 Winners: FIM ASIA; Autoklub of the Czech Republic (ACCR); Hellenic Sporting Motorcyclists Association (AMOTOE); Avto-Moto Zveza Slovenije (AMZS); Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation (BMF); Estonian Federation (EMF); Federación Salvadoreña de Motociclismo (FESAMOTO); Federacio Motociclista d'Andorra (FMA); Federazione Motociclistica Italiana (FMI); Ikatan Motor Indonesia (IMI); National Motorcycle Sports & Safety Association (NAMSSA); Nepal Automobiles Association (NASA);Polski Zwiazek Motorowy (PZM); Real Federación Motociclista Española (RFME); Turkish Motorcycling Federation (TMF).
FIM President: “I would like to express my solidarity to all Members of the FIM Family affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This first online General Assembly was a real success despite the technical challenge, in particular for the voting system, which worked perfectly. I thank the participants from all over the world for their collaboration. To conclude, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to salute the efforts made by the FMNs, CONUs, Directors and Members of the Commissions, Officials and the many Volunteers as well as the organisers, riders, promoters and all other FIM stakeholders who made motorcycle sport possible in 2020."