Dear Friends,
Dear Colleagues,
We come to the end of another challenging yet successful year for our international kettlebell lifting family. This year has provided many outstanding opportunities to show the beauty, uniqueness, and vitality of our beloved Sport, the devotion of our supporters, and the prestige of our competitions around the world.
Recent highlights included the European Championships in Bulgaria and the Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan, the World Junior Championships in Uzbekistan, the Pan American Championships in the USA, and the Oceania Championships in Australia. World Championships in various disciplines in Poland and the People's Republic of China were held at the highest level – captivating performances by athletes, broken records, participants from new countries, live broadcasts around the world, and the most fair and clean competitions without a single case of doping marked the pinnacle of the 2025 competition season. We are proud of this outcome and I obviously take this opportunity to warmly thank our national members, as well as all athletes, coaches, judges, volunteers and officials for their contribution to our common work.
With a renovated energy and motivation, we can now envisage a great 2026. We remain committed to delivering the best possible competitions for our athletes, we will proceed with our merciless fight for clean and fair sport in collaboration with WADA and the International Fair Play Committee, and will implement our development program for the benefit of our members. We will remain fully determined in guaranteeing good governance, inclusivity and sustainability in everything we do, we will strengthen and increase our institutional partnerships with the major stakeholders in the international sports environment and in the International Olympic Movement.
2026 will also be the year of the IUKL Constituent Conference. Our national members will democratically and transparently elect a new Board and determine the main vectors of our development for the next four years. I am sure their verdict will reinforce the path of success that IUKL has been on for the past period.
Our future prospects can only be achieved in a spirit of unity and solidarity. Despite certain national differences, I am happy and proud to say that our international kettlebell lifting family is a very united one. We walk together with one common and consensual vision: to make kettlebell lifting a more credible, important, and respected sport on a global scale!
I am confident that we are on the right track, and although the political, social, and economic challenges around us are enormous, through close and ongoing cooperation, we will be able to overcome any difficulties.
I thank you for your continuous support and hard work and I wish you a healthy, successful, peaceful, and prosperous New Year of 2026!
With best regards,
Vasily Ginko
IUKL President
