Creation of the RIPH, Rassemblement International
pour la Promotion de l’Hydrospeed
(International association for the promotion of hydrospeed)
Background
Year 2000
People who are fond of White Water Swimming (or hydrospeed) from all kinds of backgrounds and from all countries can meet on a special meeting place: the DreamNev.org site. Its mailing list makes it possible to facilitate contacts and dialogue and gives rise to a network of swimmers.
Year 2001
For the first time, Swiss swimmers of the Hydrospeed Swiss Team take part in a competition organised in France. These same Swiss swimmers get together with French swimmers in the Alps for three days and take part in a meeting organised by Eau Vive Plongée Orléans on the Dora Baltea in July.
April 2002
Hydrospeed Swiss Team organises the first international meeting of hydrospeed, which brings together French and Swiss swimmers in the Alps.
August 2002
On the Gens de Terre in the middle of Quebec, 5 White Water Swimming friends from Switzerland, Canada and France make a 5-day expedition and decide to create an international association to promote and develop hydrospeed in the world: RIPH is born.
December 2002
Official launching of RIPH International.
Why RIPH?
More and more swimmers come together around common values connected with the practice of hydrospeed. This spirit can often be summed up in two words: pleasure and safety.
Coming from various countries and regions, some of them wanted to formalise these links and to develop dynamics around the practice of hydrospeed and the discovery of new play-grounds and new swimmers (according to the slogan "Free Ride, Free Style") by creating an association.
RIPH International sees itself as a federative movement and not as an entity entering in conflicts with existing structures or organisations.
Its objectives are simple:
To develop hydrospeed (or White Water Swimming) in all countries.
To organise international meetings.
To standardise regulations for training and competitions.
To ensure international communication between swimmers.
To develop a system of mutual recognition of various existing training programmes.
To prompt to the protection of the environment and the places of practice connected with hydrospeed.
To develop access to hydrospeed for the great majority of people and in particular for young people.
To promote the actions and writings connected with safety.
RIPH International will therefore take all actions that it will consider necessary for the carrying out of its aims.
Concretely
As of now, several Internet sites that take part in the promotion of hydrospeed are labelled RIPH.
An Internet site describing the RIPH is launched in several languages (French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch and Portuguese). A mailing campaign to known and identified contacts is launched to announce the birth of RIPH International.
At least one country sets up its RIPH structure: Switzerland.
Subsequently, international meetings will be labelled RIPH (Meeting in Switzerland in May 2003, Meeting in Spain in June 2003, etc.)
In practice
RIPH is an international association having its seat in Switzerland.
RIPH members are national institutions, i.e. national associations or federations working for the development of hydrospeed.
The RIPH International is composed of a Management Committee and of an assembly of the delegates, a delegate being the representative of a national institution.
Founder members are:
| The president | Raphaël BESSON |
| The vice-president | Patrice PONSIN |
| The technical head | Fred SANJOU |
| The secretary | Denis MORIN |
| The treasurer | Marc ETTINGER |
| international relations | Niko MILLOT Daniel CHATELAIN |
Why hydrospeed?
In France, the word hydrospeed has been in the public field for a few months but initially belonged to the company Méritor. It was kept in the wording of the association because it is well known among the public and more widespread than White Water Swimming (NEV).
The word hydrospeed or its variations (hydrospeedo, hidrospeed) are widely used everywhere in the world.
Simon Pierre, who is in charge of the company Méritor, gave his agreement for the use of hydrospeed in the wording of the association.
More ?
The complete RIPH International statutes are available on http://www.riph.net
Contact : mailto:infos@riph.net
Other languages here :
| Anglais / English | http://www.riph.net/en |
| Allemand / Deutsch | http://www.riph.net/de |
| Italien / italiano | http://www.riph.net/it |
| Espagnol / español | http://www.riph.net/es |
| Néerlandais / Nederlands | http://www.riph.net/nl |
| Portugais / Português | http://www.riph.net/pt |
| Français | http://www.riph.net/fr |
