International
Sumo
Federation

Chapter 3 : Member Organizations

Article 8 : Membership
  1. Organizations representing sumo in various Countries (limited to one organization per Country that is the representative of the Country, hereinafter called “National Federation”) and organizations in the continents where member Countries belong to (hereinafter called “Continental Federation”) that support the objectives of IFS may become members of IFS after obtaining approval by the Board of Directors.
  2. When the Board of Directors approves a National Federation, as stipulated in the preceding Item, it shall do so provisionally for two (2) years. At the end of the provisional period, the Board of Directors shall deliberate again and decide whether to fully recognize, to extend the provisional period, or to revoke its provisional qualification.
  3. The application for membership must be submitted with an IFS-designated Application Form. In the case of a National Federation the following documents listed below must be attached.
    4. (1) Letter of recommendation from two IFS member organizations, at least one of which should be in the same
    Continental Federation;
    (2) Documents, issued by the relevant authority of the country concerned, the National Olympic Committee or
    organization supervising sports organizations, proving that the applicant is a National Federation of the country
    concerned, or in the case that the above documents are not attainable due to special circumstances, documents
    showing that the National Federation has the registration of more than 20 members and is active in sumo activities;
    (3) Rules and regulations of the National Federation;
    (4) Documents indicating that the National Federation has the financial basis to pay IFS's admission fee and annual
    membership fee as specified in Article 9.
  4. A National Federation that has been provisionally approved as stipulated in Article 8.2, can compete in international sumo competitions, as well as attend the General Assembly of IFS as observers without voting or speaking rights.
Article 9 : Admission Fees and Annual Membership Fees
  1. Member National Federations must pay IFS the admission fee and annual membership fees.
  2. The amount to be paid for the admission fee and annual membership fees is provided separately.
Article 10 : Full Compliance with IFS Policy, Etc.
  1. A member organization must comply with IFS policy regarding the organization of and/or participation in a Sumo competition or event, as well as any events organized by a member organization.
  2. Member organization must be in charge of implementing the IFS decisions, policies and other various terms of IFS rules.
  3. A member organization shall not refuse, without an appropriate reason, a person who wishes to participate in an organizational operation and/or sumo activities.
  4. When a member organization does not comply with IFS policies as stated in the preceding three items, IFS may instruct and demand the implementation of corrective actions.
Article 11 : Revocation of Membership
A member organization loses its qualification for one of the following reasons.
(1) Withdrawal (as stipulated in Article 12);
(2) Dissolution or disappearance of the member organization;
(3) Expulsion (as stipulated in Article 13);
(4) When a member organization provisionally approved under Article 8.2 was not officially approved as stipulated
in Article 8.2.
Article 12 : Withdrawal
When a member organization intends to withdraw from IFS, it must submit a withdrawal notice including its reason to IFS.
Article 13 : Expulsion
When a member organization falls under one of the following categories, the President may expel the organization with the support of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Directors.
(1) When it has violated its obligations as a member organization;
(2) When it has damaged the reputation of IFS or carried out actions that infringe the objectives of IFS;
(3) When it has fallen two (2) years or more in arrears of annual fees without a reasonable reason;
(4) When it has not participated in any of the World Sumo Championships, World Junior Sumo Championships, or a
Continental Sumo Championships in which the National Federation belongs, for a period of five (5) consecutive years.
PAGE TOP