Last May, FIDE announced the creation of the Athletes Commission. The Internal rules and electoral regulations have now been approved by the FIDE Council, and the first Athletes Commission elections are to be held from 9 am CET December 11th to 9 am CET December 18th, 2020. Voting will be conducted by email. 

This electoral procedure will determine 10 of the 15 members of the ATH Commission, with the remaining 5 being appointed by the FIDE Council. The term of election and appointment of all 15 members is 4 years, but exceptionally, the first term is limited to two years: until the 2022 FIDE Congress. 

Every candidate for election to the Athletes’ Commission must be at least 18 years old, be endorsed by their National Federation, and he/she must have competed in at least one of the last three FIDE World Championship Cycles, open or Women’s (World Cup, Grand Prix Series, Candidates Tournament), or have qualified for the next cycle. 

Candidates should also have a reasonable command of English and not have been sanctioned by the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission in the past 5 years. 

The electorate will be composed of all holders of GM/WGM titles, as well as any players who have competed in at least one of the last three FIDE World Championship Cycles, (open or Women’s), or have qualified for the next cycle. 

The Candidature Nomination Form must be completed, signed by the candidate, and received by the FIDE Secretariat (office@fide.com) by November 20th (23:59 CET). 

You can read the complete regulations here, and the nomination form is available at this link. 

The purpose of the Athletes Commission (ATH) is to enable the players' voices and experiences to be heard and used for the improvement of chess as a sport. Involving athletes in the decision-making process is a core component of good governance within sports organizations, allowing them to provide early feedback on potential decisions that will affect them. This peer-to-peer cooperation helps to safeguard the credibility of the sport.

Likewise, this body will actively promote and support the establishment of Athletes’ Commissions in Area Associations and Member Federations. The figure of an Athletes Commission is common among members and stakeholders of the Olympic movement, like other International Federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), or the Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (COCGs).