| World DanceSport Federation | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 12 May 1957 |
| Type | International sport federation |
| Headquarters | Sant Cugat, Spain |
| Membership | 88 National Member Bodies[1] |
| President | Carlos Freitag |
| Website | http://www.worlddancesport.org |
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF), is the international governing body of dancesport and Wheelchair DanceSport, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Originally founded in 1957 as the International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD), it took up the name IDSF in 1990. In 2011 it was renamed to WDSF to emphasise the global character of the organization.
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The WDSF has 88 national member associations, 65 of which are recognised by their National Olympic Committee.[1]
The WDSF is not the only international organisation in the field of competitive dance. The World Dance Council (WDC) is another prominent international dance organisation.
In the past, the WDC focus was on administering professional dancers and competitions. However, the launch of the WDC Amateur League in 2007[4] put the two organisations in direct conflict. The launch of the IDSF Professional Division in 2010 has since become an additional point of conflict.
The WDSF forbids its members to dance in WDC Amateur League events.[5]
The International News (Tanzsportmagazin), which served as WDSF's official publication since 1998, was replaced in 2004 by DanceSport Today, and in 2009 by World DanceSport Magazine.[6]
| Name | Country | Presidency |
|---|---|---|
| Otto Teipel | Germany | 05/12/1957—05/13/1962 |
| Heinrich Bronner | Germany | 05/13/1962—06/23/1963 |
| Rolf Finke | Germany | 06/23/1963—06/27/1965 |
| Detlef Hegemann | Germany | 06/27/1965—1998 |
| Rudolf Baumann | Switzerland | 1998—06/11/2006 retired as Honorary Life President |
| Carlos Freitag | Spain | 06/11/2006—present |