Message to athletes from UIPM President & Secretary General

On June 10 in Ankara (TUR), UIPM will hold a special meeting designed to give athletes an opportunity for open dialogue about the New 5th Discipline proposed for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

The UIPM President, Dr Klaus Schormann, and Secretary General, Shiny Fang, today released a joint statement to set the scene for this important meeting.

Where we are: the background

The UIPM Athletes Committee (AC) arranged three meetings for athletes since their mandate started in December 2021, immediately after the UIPM 2021 Congress.

Members of the AC have done tremendous work to communicate with both current and former athletes, briefing them on reasons for the proposed changes and providing as much information as possible.

Members of the New 5th Discipline Working Group have worked together in a very open-minded and honest way to evaluate options for the new discipline, based on all submitted proposals.

The ad-hoc group for the New 5th Discipline Test Event, which will also take place in Ankara on June 27/28, has provided comprehensive testing rules and this event is now open for pentathletes and Obstacle athletes alike to register.

Athletes who qualify to participate in the UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Final (June 24-26) are invited by UIPM to stay in Ankara (TUR) to take part in the Test Event at no additional cost.

Why we need to talk

We heard you loudly, we listened to the feedback and we tried to give further explanation through all available communication channels, especially via the UIPM Athletes Committee – which is made up of athletes who were elected by their peers in June 2021.

But sometimes that’s not enough, and we know it was never going to be enough to satisfy the demand for information about such a historic decision as this.

That’s why we need to have this direct dialogue now, before the process goes any further, to provide athletes with as much context as possible and to gather information to help us understand and address your concerns.

Change is hard for everyone, and especially when it involves something that stirs passion as much as sport. At UIPM we understand that, but we also understand we have an obligation to make decisions that will move the entire sport forward for the sake of future generations.

We know that current athletes are being asked to make a major adaptation in their sporting lives – this is not easy. For many of you, it will be painful and emotional to give up on equestrian after many years of training and competing to become the best possible riders. But we have a stark choice: either we adapt or we are out of the Olympic programme.

We want to work with you and to build the future of Modern Pentathlon with you.

How you can join the meeting

If you are competing in UIPM 2022 Pentathlon World Cup Ankara (June 7-12), simply join the athletes meeting on June 10 at 8:30 pm local time in the Technical Meeting room.

If you will not be in Ankara, you can join the meeting online by simply registering here.