- What is a recognised sport?
Isle of Man Sport does not decide what is and what is not a sport. There are many different opinions as to what constitutes a sporting activity and Isle of Man Sport does not have its own definition of sport.
Isle of Man Sport operates a recognition process to establish which sports they may consider working with and investing in. When deciding whether to recognise a sport to work with, Isle of Man Sport ascertain if it meets the Council of Europe’s European Sports Charter 1993 definition of sport (“Sport" means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels) and if the sport is well established and organised within the Isle of Man.
It is not the role of Isle of Man Sport to establish or appoint Governing Bodies of Sport (GBS). GBS are typically independent organisations that govern their sports through the common consent of their sport.
The aim of the engagement process is to identify a single GBS structure which governs a sport. IOM Sport's engagement criteria focuses on establishing if a GBS has achieved a high level of organisation and governance.
Isle of Man Sport recognition of (and engagement with) a Governing Body of Sport is not a guarantee of funding, nor does it mean that IOM Sport have approved, accredited or endorsed the quality of its programmes. Recognition by IOM Sport does not bestow any official powers on a Governing Body of Sport to govern its sport, other than those contained within the GBS’s constitution.
You can find our current list of recognised sports here.
- How does my sport become recognised?
Under a new process introduced in 2017, applications for recognition of a sport (and a Governing Body for that sport are dealt with together). Recognition of sports and Governing Bodies of Sport is subject to the submission of an 'Engagement' application which assesses sporting activity and governance.
You can obtain an application form by emailing sportsliaison@gov.im.
Decisions on engagement applications are made by the Isle of Man Sport Committee who will aim to contact you with the outcome within 60 days from the date it is received.