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Sao Paulo Declaration
Considering:
1)
That
Masters aquatic athletes all across the Americas received a last minute
alarming notice from various sources: of a communiqué, emanating urgently
from the FINA through their ASUA/UANA organization in Puerto Rico, dated
September 13, 2005, which read as quoted:
From:
Orban Mendoza [mailto:omendoza@caribe.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:09 PM
Subject:
URGENT MESSAGE
Dear Members of
U.A.N.A. Affiliated Federations:
Mr. Coaracy Nunes
Filho, President of the Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation, has asked
us today to inform all Federations affiliated to U.A.N.A. that the
Brazilian Swimming Federation and the Aquatic Federation of Sao Paulo are
not involved with the Masters competition to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil
on October 2005 and that this event it is being promoted by a company
named Latycar without authorization neither from either of these two
organizations nor FINA.
For the above stated,
we exhort the Presidents of U.A.N.A. Affiliated Federations to inform all
its Masters swimmers to abstain from having any relationship and
participate in an event organized and run by a non-affiliated member of
FINA. Participants who fail to abstain do so will be exposed to the risk
of being suspended for a minimum period of one (1) year in harmony
according to FINA's rule GR. 4.5.
Thank you for your
cooperation and interest in this urgent call.
Regards,
Ing. Orban Mendoza,
President of U.A.N.A.
2) That
all of the Americas aquatic Masters athletes received an unwarranted and
unjustified written expressed threat of a minimum one year suspension
based on false information;
3) That
said communiqué created havoc and doubts, thus damaging the two year
publicly announced ALL AMERICAS 8th - LatyCar Aquatic Championship;
4) That
FINA, therefore, has infringed on all athletes’ inalienable civil rights
to free choice;
5)
That in
that communiqué, FINA claimed falsely that the ALL AMERICAS – 8th LatyCar
2005 Sao Paulo Aquatic Championship was not sanctioned by ABMN (Brazilian
Masters Swimming Association);
6)
That the
truth is that ABMN is the only legal national Brazilian Masters ruling
body so recognized by CBDA (Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation);
7) That
as a result of the false information contained in the communiqué, FINA, an
international organization, did indeed mislead all national federations
and associations into believing that CBDA was the only official
sanctioning body, when in fact it’s ABMN’s responsibility as the
officially recognized Masters ruling body;
8) That
the ALL AMERICAS – 8th LatyCar did have in its possession a
legally issued written and signed ABMN sanction effective since 2003;
9)
That in
that communiqué, FINA also falsely claimed that the ALL AMERICAS – 8th
LatyCar 2005 Sao Paulo Aquatic Championship was not sanctioned by FAP, the
Brazil legally recognized state of Sao Paulo aquatic federation;
10) That
the ALL AMERICAS – 8th LatyCar did have in its possession a FAP
legally written and signed sanction effective since 2003;
11) That
through the aquatic federations and associations, all of the Americas
governing National Sports Institutes suffered a flagrant usurpation of
their national autonomies by a foreign international organization;
12)
That in
the communiqué, FINA did also falsely and knowingly claim that LatyCar, a
legally incorporated non profit association, was a company;
13) That
FINA has wrongly declared itself owner of certain generic terms including
“WORLD” as well as apparently wanting to appropriate the names of all
continental bodies as their own property for eventual exclusive use in
funds generation events, i.e.: “European”, “Asiatic”, “Americas”, etc., ;
14)
That
Masters sports are not an Olympic high performance mission objective and
thus not part of the Olympic movement, either internationally or
nationally;
15)
That
Masters aquatic sports movement in the world represent an enormous
financial potential to FINA;
16)
That FINA
is part of an organization that is not subject to checks and balances and
thus lacks accountability to its members;
17)
That, to
this date, no Masters organization has ever suggested anything other than
a harmonious relationship with FINA.
Based on all the above considerations, as well as some others, Masters
Aquatic Athlete citizens
of a number of the
Americas countries, and others, have concluded and agree that FINA’s main
aim is an exclusive and total control over all potential financial income
to be generated by international Masters Aquatic Sports events throughout
the world and will go to any extent to eliminate any groups and
individual’s free choice in the matter of participation, events and
programs in order for FINA to exercise a monopoly. MSI (Masters Swimming
International) serves as an example.
Therefore, the majority of the Americas Aquatic Masters athletes
attending the ALL AMERICAS – LatyCar, Brazil Oct 10 - 15, 2005 Aquatic
Masters Championship for swimming, polo, open waters, diving, synchronized
and postals, hereby agree that a Friendly International Masters aquatics
organization is required and must be open to all interested aquatic
athletes from anywhere in the world so that they can lobby and work
together by sharing information to promote our sports through the
application of a Mission, Principles and Objectives exclusively beneficial
to Masters.
The Masters aquatics Mission shall be:
To promote fun, fitness, friendship, health and participation throughout
the World knowing that adult aquatics is not ultimately an Olympic
objective; to develop, strive, lobby, promote and attain an all ‘Masters
for Masters’ Program by guaranteeing that aquatic Masters athletes
rightfully have their civil and personal inalienable rights considered and
respected in achieving harmony and friendship through aquatics and
therefore to exercise willfully their liberty to choice of unrestricted
aquatic sports practice and participation without fear nor threat of
unwarranted punishment by any organization national or international.
In the
pursuit of the Mission Statement, the Organization will have as Principles
and Objectives:
1)
To respect
of all personal aquatic goals.
2)
To respect
the inalienable right of each athlete to choose any championship,
festival, sport and event in which he/she chooses to participate.
3)
To
exchange goodwill and harmony.
4)
To inform
of international activities that provide opportunities for individuals to
meet for aquatic competition and social interaction, friendship and
understanding.
5)
To provide
contacts and opportunities for Masters athletes who travel to train and
compete away from home.
6)
To publish
an international listing of facilities for Masters use.
7)
To promote
public support and awareness of the benefits of Masters aquatic sports
practice around the World.
8) To
promote competitive program ideas and communicate and inform about
competitive opportunities for Masters aquatic athletes.
9) To
provide the networking and communications to exchange safe training
programs and techniques which can furnish the motivational spur necessary
for continued health and participation.
10) To
promote the communication with and between Masters aquatic sports bodies
for the exchange and development of rules and regulations governing adult
aquatics as well as competition formats.
11) To
promote and motivate the evolution of national Masters aquatic
organizations around the world to better serve their members by assisting
them in the exchange of experiences, especially in regards to Masters
relationship with national federations and associations.
Therefore in consideration of all the aforementioned Principles and
Objectives, the athletes hereby agree to invite all Masters around the
world to constitute and so bring about a much and long needed world
Masters non-for-profit organization which shall apply the points of the
Sao Paulo Declaration.
The name of the friendship, networking and non-profit organization shall
be
World Aquatic Masters Organization, and can be known by its’
acronym
“WAMO”
It will be open to all those interested aquatic athletes in the world
who want to share the Mission, Principles and Objectives herein contained.
It will represent and make public all Masters athletes interests in the
pursuit of fairness and harmony and will do so through its’ website
http://www.wamo.info
The Organization will have an initial lifespan of three years (36
months) from the time of its incorporation with the purpose of involving
Masters from around the world. After such lapse of time the members will
decide how to continue evolving, justify and better define its Mission,
Principles and Objectives.
It shall be legally constituted as an international sports non-profit
association under the laws of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and
registered in its National Sports Ministry; it shall have provisions for
the establishment of Chapters in all parts of the world.
The proposal to make this a public declaration was put forth to the
participating athletes in a written ballot and was approved by an
overwhelming majority.
Once appointed, the duties of the Officers will be to divulge, share and
promote the Mission, Principles and Objectives of WAMO. These same duties
apply to the above representatives.
Approved in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday the 15th of
October of 2005. |
