Jersey, Channel Islands June 30, 2022: Today, the International Functional Fitness Federation (iF3) announced its recognition of the Jersey Functional Fitness Association as the national governing body for competitive functional fitness in Jersey.
Joe Murphy, President of the Jersey Federation, announced, “I am excited to start this journey of developing functional fitness as a new competitive sport in Jersey. Having competed and coached within the sport for many years myself, I know how much dedication, discipline and commitment is involved to excel as an athlete within it. I feel the sport itself is the definitive test of all-around fitness, which is why it has always been a personal goal of mine to bring recognition to the way this sport is structured in Jersey.
Our initial first steps are to get a community-driven team together who are passionate for the sport to grow on the island. After this we will then look at hosting our first Jersey National Competitions on the island to allow entry for the winners to represent Jersey into the iF3 World Championships and the iF3 Masters World Championships.”
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands located between England and France. It is a self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom. The Jersey Functional Fitness Association will govern the sport on the island and will be allowed to send its own independent contingent of athletes to iF3 international events and eventually to multi-sport events such as the Commonwealth Games once the sport gains entry to those events. In the case of inclusion in an eventual Olympic Games, qualification and representation by any Jersey athletes would flow through the national federation representing Great Britain.
This year Jersey is eligible to send athletes to the iF3 World Championships in Mexico in December as well as the iF3 Masters World Championships in Aruba in November. More information about the work of the Jersey Federation is available at https://www.facebook.com/jerseyfunctionalfitnessassociation
Murphy expressed his excitement about the future saying, “As we start to bring legitimacy to the sport on the island I am hopeful we are then in a position for the local government to help support us in this venture, whether that be in training services for the athletes or travel costs for our teams to compete against other nations. Our plan is to start with adults and then establish our youth program so that we can provide a pathway of development, and hopefully provide opportunity for juniors to compete at Junior Worlds in the years to come.
As the sport of functional fitness continues to grow globally with the help of the iF3, the long-term objective would be to have Jersey athletes compete at the Commonwealth Games. We will make sure to provide leadership, structure, and resources on a local level to help support this long-term goal as much as we can.”
Gretchen Kittelberger, President of the International Functional Fitness Federation, commented, “We are very excited to add the country of Jersey to the iF3 family. One of my favorite parts about seeing National Federations develop in smaller island nations is the immediate impact these federations can have on the growth of the sport in the country. The team behind our Jersey Federation is experienced in the sport, and I am confident they will develop a strong federation who will provide great opportunities to the athletes of Jersey.”
