During the IFMA Youth World Championships, the world’s young muaythai leaders join together for a conference discussing muaythai from their standpoint. This year IFMA youth from 79 countries come together in the athletes’ hotel to discuss doping, education and sport.
The panel was made up of athletes and experts on various aspects of youth muaythai including Dr Erdogan Aydin from Turkey who spoke on the dangers of doping and encouraged the youth to become informed on the WADA regulations using humorous slides and cartoons. Sue Glassey, IFMA vice-president and a high school teacher talked about ways to mix schooling and elite level training, and how to maintain a healthy balance.

Caroline Baxter from UNESCO spoke about social projects which IFMA youth can be involved with, and discussed how muaythai can benefit people in a much wider way than just in the gym. Rodrigo JOrquer from Peru linked in with this, and spoke about how muaythai helped him turn around his life as a teenager. He showed videos and discussed how the federation is now carrying this on with kids projects in Lima.
And of course the athletes joined in. American Maile Eugenio Caras was on the stage, and she described her daily routine and how she focuses on winning gold at these championships. And The World Games 2017 athlete Jared Rothwell from South Africa spoke about his experience in Wroclaw last month. Many other athletes spoke from the floor, asking questions and for further information on topics like the WADA Anti-doping.

Chair of the IFMA Youth Commission Elisa Salinas – who runs the Sport Is Your Gang social project in Mexico –  said: ‘Through conferences like this IFMA continues to ensure that the youth of the world play the most important part in our youth development programme.
The aim is always to ensure they have a voice in the overall decision-making process of IFMA planning for the future as they are the future.’