The 54th IFBB International Congress
showing some of the 57 National Federations that participated. The Malaysian Organizing Committee
are to be commended for their professionalism, hard work, and generosity in ensuring
that the setting in which the Congress was held reflected the renowned Malaysian warmth and hospitality

IFBB Executive Committee members present: Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., Ph.D., President, Rafael Santonja, Executive Assistant to the President, Pamela Kagan, Executive Director, Eric Weider, General Secretary, Albert Busek, Vice President Europe, Javier Pollock, Vice President Caribbean, Paul Chua, Vice President Asia, Paul Graham, Vice President Oceania, Dr. Eng. Adel Fahim El Sayed, Vice President Africa, Malih Alaywan, Vice President Middle East, Dr. Bob Goldman, Chairman Medical Commission, Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Beuker, Secretary Medical Commission, Prof. Dr. Eduardo H. De Rose, Special Advisor Medical Commission, Tony Blinn, Chairman Technical Committee, Lisser Frost-Larsen, Chairwoman Women's Committee, Kim Nam Hak, Patron, Lou Zhuo Yu, Patron

The International Congress Annual Meeting was called to order by President Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., Ph.D., at 9:00 AM. President Weider, in his opening remarks, welcomed all delegations to the 54th IFBB Men's World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships and International Congress.

The roll call was conducted by Tony Blinn, Chairman of the Technical Committee, who confirmed that 57 countries were present.

Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong (Malaysia) welcoming the delegates to Malacca

President Weider introduced Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong, Chairman of the Malaysian Bodybuilding Federation and the Malaysian Organizing Committee, who extended a warm welcome to all participants at the Championships and Congress.

Two new National Federations were affiliated to the IFBB - the Turks & Caicos Islands and Bosnia-Herzegovina, bringing the total number of affiliates to 172.

President Weider addressed the Congress on the recent success of the European Men's Championships held in Lausanne, Switzerland, and attended by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Sports Director Mr. Gilbert Felli, and IOC Olympic Museum Director Ms. Franзoise Zweifel. President Weider stated that Mr. Samaranch was "most impressed" with the IFBB and that he not only asked many pertinent questions about the sport but also offered several recommendations for consideration.

President Weider and Rafael Santonja, Executive Assistant to the President, stated that the implementation of effective National Doping Control Programs was critical to the continued growth of our sport and that all Federations must work together to eliminate drug use and abuse.

Eric Weider, General Secretary, expressed his thanks to all National Federations for their ongoing support and asked that the Federations strengthen their efforts to become part of the various Regional Games.

President Weider called upon each Vice President to present a brief summary of the activities within their areas. All agreed that bodybuilding and fitness were experiencing continued growth worldwide.

Eric Weider, General Secretary, Ben Weider, C.M., C.Q., Ph.D., President,
and Rafael Santonja, Executive Assistant to the President

Paul Chua, Vice President for Asia, advised the Congress of the exiting news that bodybuilding would be a medal sport at the 2002 Asian Games, in Pusan City, South Korea. Rafael Santonja further advised that bodybuilding and fitness would be medal sports at the 2002 Central American Games in Guatemala and at the 2002 South American Games in Cordoba, Argentina.

Pamela Kagan Executive Director	Ben Weider President	Rafael Santonja Executive Assistant to the President
Eric Weider General Secretary	Paul Chua Vice President Asia	Albert Busek Vice President Europe

Rafael Santonja addressed the Congress on the following 11 very important points:

1. That all National Federations continue their support of President Weider in his quest for Olympic Recognition.

2. That all National Federations actively lobby their National Olympic Committees for sport recognition.

3. That all National Federations follow the IOC and IFBB guidelines for the implementation of effective Doping Control Programs.

4. That all National Federations actively lobby for recognition by their National Sport Authorities.

5. That all National Federations actively lobby for inclusion in the various Regional Games.

6. That all National Federations, via a proposed questionnaire, advise the IFBB of the extent of their National Doping Control Programs.

   Javier Pollock Vice President Caribbean

   Paul Graham Vice President Oceania

   Dr. Eng. Adel Fahim El Sayed Vice President Africa

7. That the Czech Republic Bodybuilding Federation receive a round of applause for their decision to take over the organization of the Juniors & Masters Women's Bodybuilding and Junior Fitness World Championships, being held in Brno, Czech Republic, December 1-5, 2000.

8. That Mostafa Hefzi, IFBB Patron, and Honorary Chairman of the Judges Committee, receive a round of applause for his many years of service to the IFBB and the sport.

9. That all delegations be mindful of the necessity for wearing proper attire at all Parades of Nations.

10. That, during the Preliminary Assessment (Elimination) Round, a new judging procedure would be implemented which would require eliminating "lower-placed" athletes instead of picking "higher-placed" athletes.

11. That, during the Finals, the Category Award Ceremonies would be staggered to eliminate any "dead time".

Dr. Bob Goldman Chairman Medical Commission

Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Beuker Secretary Medical Commission

Prof. Dr. Eduardo De Rose Special Advisor Medical Commission

President Weider called upon Tony Blinn, who presented a brief report on the continued success of our Official Website at IFBB.com, with over 2.6 million hits in October 2000.

Lisser Frost-Larsen, Chairwoman of the Women's Committee, stated that women's bodybuilding and fitness was enjoying increased success worldwide.

Hitoshi Tamari (Japan) presenting a report on the 2001 Akita World Games

Prof. Dr. Eduardo H. De Rose, Special Advisor to the Medical Commission, commented on the new professionally prepared IFBB Doping Control forms and congratulated the IFBB on implementing all of his recommendations for improvement to the Doping Control Policy & Anti-Doping Program. Prof. Dr. De Rose strongly recommended that the IFBB increase its out-of-competition and unannounced testing, to which President Weider readily agreed.

Dr. Bob Goldman, Chairman of the Medical Commission, reported on his activities and many trips around the world, aimed at educating the National Federations on the subject of combating drug use and abuse. Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Beuker, Secretary of the Medical Commission, voiced his strong approval of all of the recommendations put forth by Prof. Dr. De Rose and Dr. Goldman.

President Weider advised the Congress that, effective January 1, 2001, tougher sanctions would be enforced against those National Federations who fail to act responsibly in conducting effective Doping Control programs at the National level and who fail to ensure that their athletes are competing drug-free.

The following decisions of the Executive Council and propositions from the National Federations were read into the record and ratified by the Congress:

1. That, effective immediately, the mandatory dress code for all delegates participating in a Parade of Nations shall be IFBB formal attire e.g. black dress shoes, grey dress pants, white shirt, IFBB tie, and blue blazer with IFBB crest.

2. That, prior to the end of the first quarter 2001, a questionnaire be forwarded to all National Federations with the intent of determining the extent of their Doping Control Programs.

3. That, commencing January 1, 2001, the number of fitness categories at World and Continental levels shall be increased from two to three. These are:
   • up to 160 cm
     
   • up to 167 cm
     
   • over 167 cm
     

   Sultan Sheikh Bin Mejren (UAE) President Arab Bodybuilding Federation

4. That the increase in the number of fitness categories, and their height limitations, shall also apply to the World Junior Fitness Championships.

5. That, commencing January 1, 2001, at fitness competitions, the top six finalists only from Prejudging shall qualify for the Finals instead of the current top ten finalists.

6. That, commencing January 1, 2001, mixed-pairs competition shall be eliminated at the World level. Mixed-pairs competition may still be held at the Continental and National levels.

7. That all references to the term "Liaison Director" be removed from the IFBB Constitution.

8. That the "Medical and Doping Committee" be renamed to "Medical Commission".

The Executive Council discussed and rejected the proposition from Sweden "That the individual judge's marks be made public immediately after the event".

Malih Alaywan Vice President Middle East	Tony Blinn, CD Chairman Technical Committee	Lisser Frost-Larsen Chairwoman Women's Committee
Lou Zhuo Yu Patron	Kim Nam Hak Patron	Rick Blair Weider USA

Albert Busek, Vice President for Europe, presented his report on his recent attendance at the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) meeting. Albert urged all National Federations to "do everything possible to make our sport as clean as possible". Albert advised that a recent Memorandum of Agreement had been signed by His Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, any by Mr. Ron Froehlich, President of the International World Games Association, which would see the two organizations maintaining closer ties in the future. President Weider reminded the Congress that bodybuilding and softball were the two founding member of the World Games.

Rauf Bunyataliyev (Azerbaijan) discussing the 2001 Men's Europeans

Alexandre Pagnani (Brazil) discussing the 2001 Women's Worlds

Mr. Hitoshi Tamari, President of the Japanese Bodybuilding Federation, presented a report on the upcoming 2001 Akita World Games. As usual, Mr. Tamari, who does not speak English, nonetheless presented the entire report in English and received generous applause from all delegations.

U Maung Swe (Myanmar) discussing the 2001 Men's Worlds

Andrew Michalak & Pawel Filleborn (Poland) discussing an issue with the Council & Congress

President Weider called upon the U Maung Swe from Myanmar to present a report on the organization of the 55th World Championships and Congress in Yangon City, Myanmar.

Pamela Kagan, Executive Director, addressed the issue of the Allocation of Championships for the year 2001 and beyond. Once completed, Pamela reminded all National Federations of the IFBB Rules regarding the early arrival of delegates and athletes, which state that early arrivals and late departures are solely responsible for arranging their own transportation and accommodations, at their own expense.

There being no further business, President Weider wished all of the athletes the best of luck and wished everyone a memorable stay in Malacca. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 PM.