Socialist Workers' Sport International

Socialist Workers' Sport International (

Austro-Marxist Julius Deutsch was the president of SASI.^[2]

International Labour Sports Federation (CSIT) was established in 1946 as the successor of SASI.^[3]

Foundation

An international meeting of workers sports associations had been held in

First World War put the build-up of an international workers' sport organisation on hold. After the war two Belgians, Gaston Bridoux and Jules Devlieger, took initiative to revive the cooperation. Preparatory meetings were held in Seraing, Belgium in 1919 and in Paris, France, during Easter 1920. The founding congress of the international took place in Lucerne September 13-September 14, 1920. During the foundation, the French and Belgian delegations urged that the word 'Socialist' be omitted from the name of the organisation, in order to attract a broader following.^[4]

Politics

The organisation upheld a policy of neutrality towards party organisations, a policy inherited from the German workers' sports movement (which tried to steer away from the fractional conflicts between the German socialists). This policy was however challenged by the communists, which claimed that the workers' sport movement could not abstain from taking part in revolutionary struggle. In 1921, the third congress of the

Sportintern launched fierce political attacks against the Lucerne international. Its Czechoslovak section had suffered a split in July 1921, as the communists deserted it.^[4]

At the second congress of the Lucerne International, held in Leipzig 1922, the French delegation argued in favour of unification between the two Internationals. This policy was not supported by the congress. The following year, the French affiliate FST decided to shift its membership to

Sportintern.^[4]

Ahead of the 1925 Workers Olympiad, the

Sportintern.^[4]

Politically, SASI was supported by the International Federation of Trade Unions and the Labour and Socialist International.^[5]

Workers' Olympiads

The main activity of SASI was the organizing of the

Olympics. At the Workers Olympiads only the red flag

was used, rather than national flags.

The

Schreiberhau

, in which twelve national delegations had participated.

The
1932 Los Angeles Olympics, both in number of participants and spectators.^[6]

A

1932 Lake Placid Olympics

.

The third Workers' Olympiad was held in Antwerp, Belgium in 1937. For the first time, non-SASI organisations could send delegates. A delegation from the Soviet Union took part, and won the football final. Around 50,000 people watched the final day of the Workers Olympiad, and 200 000 took part in the closing rally. A winter Workers Olympics were held in Janské Lázně, Czechoslovakia.
A fourth Workers' Olympiad was planned to be held in Helsinki, Finland in 1943, but never materialized.^[2]^[7]

Affiliates

British Workers' Sports Association^[8]

Jewish socialist sport federation in Poland, joined the SASI as its 'Jewish section', at its 1929 congress in Prague)^[9]

Polish Workers' Sport Federation^[9]
Hapoel (joined in 1927)^[10]
Finnish Workers' Sports Federation^[11]
Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund^[12]
Federation Sportive du Travail (until 1923)^[4]
Fédération sportive et gymnastique du Travail d'Alsace et de Lorraine^[13]
Fédération sportive du Travail d'Alsace et de Lorraine^[13]

Membership

As of 1931, SASI claimed the following membership figures:^[14]

Country	Membership
Germany	1211468
Austria	293700
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak federation German Sudetenland federation	136977 70730
Finland	30257
Switzerland	21624
Denmark	20000
Netherlands	16795
Belgium	12909
France	6000
Lorraine	5000
Poland Polish federation Jewish federation German federation Ukrainian federation	7000 4369 938 1925
Norway	10000
Lithuania	5171
United Kingdom	5000
Palestine	4250
USA	697
Romania	2500
Yugoslavia	1800
Hungary	1750
Estonia	1600
Total:	1872460

References

^ Kidd, Bruce. The Struggle for Canadian Sport. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996. p. 153
^ ^a ^b Wheeler, Robert F.. Organized Sport and Organized Labour: The Workers' Sports Movement, in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue: Workers' Culture (Apr., 1978), pp. 191–210
ISBN 978-3-9503593-1-2

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Steinberg, David A.. The Workers' Sport Internationals 1920–28, in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue: Workers' Culture (Apr., 1978), pp. 233–251

^ 青沼, 裕之 (31 October 2001). "アントワープ労働者オリンピアードとウォルター・シトリーン". 尚美学園大学総合政策研究紀要 = Bulletin of Policy and Management, Shobi University. 2: 87–103.

^ "Outlook Magazine - Reporting on the News Trends in Canada".

^ Eric de Ruijter (2008). "A Dozen Pictures of the Labour Olympiads". International Institute of Social History. Retrieved 2008-09-29.

^ "News - new additions - Archives Hub".

^ ^a ^b Kugelmass, Jack. Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007. pp. 119–120

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

^ "Hannu Itkonen".

^ "Gerade auf LeMO gesehen: LeMO Kapitel: Weimarer Republik".

^ ^a ^b Gounot, André. Die Rote Sportinternationale, 1921-1937: kommunistische Massenpolitik im europäischen Arbeitersport. Schriften zur Körperkultur, Bd. 38. Münster: Lit, 2002. p. 55-57

^ "CONTENTdm" (PDF).

Authority control databases

VIAF

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Socialist_Workers%27_Sport_International&oldid=1209711764"

[1] Kidd, Bruce. The Struggle for Canadian Sport. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996. p. 153

[wheel-2] Wheeler, Robert F.. Organized Sport and Organized Labour: The Workers' Sports Movement, in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue: Workers' Culture (Apr., 1978), pp. 191–210

[3] ISBN 978-3-9503593-1-2

[stein-4] Steinberg, David A.. The Workers' Sport Internationals 1920–28, in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 2, Special Issue: Workers' Culture (Apr., 1978), pp. 233–251

[5] 青沼, 裕之 (31 October 2001). "アントワープ労働者オリンピアードとウォルター・シトリーン". 尚美学園大学総合政策研究紀要 = Bulletin of Policy and Management, Shobi University. 2: 87–103.

[vcn-6] "Outlook Magazine - Reporting on the News Trends in Canada".

[iisg-7] Eric de Ruijter (2008). "A Dozen Pictures of the Labour Olympiads". International Institute of Social History. Retrieved 2008-09-29.

[8] "News - new additions - Archives Hub".

[kug2-9] Kugelmass, Jack. Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007. pp. 119–120

[10] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[11] "Hannu Itkonen".

[12] "Gerade auf LeMO gesehen: LeMO Kapitel: Weimarer Republik".

[rote-13] Gounot, André. Die Rote Sportinternationale, 1921-1937: kommunistische Massenpolitik im europäischen Arbeitersport. Schriften zur Körperkultur, Bd. 38. Münster: Lit, 2002. p. 55-57

[14] "CONTENTdm" (PDF).

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