Barbara Ardu
FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA SPORT EQUESTRI (ITALIAN EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION): A HYPOTHESIS FOR A NEW ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Purpose of this case study is to formulate a hypothesis of the organizational structure of Italian Equestrian Federation, alternative and more functional than the current one.
The Italian Equestrian Federation, with hits about 110.000 human athletes’ members and about 30.000 equine athletes’ members, currently stands between 10th and 15th place in the sporting context of the 45 federations belonging to Italian Olympic Committee.
The actual structure of Italian Equestrian Federation is composed by the governance, management, about 20 between technical, sports and services departments.
The departments are created at the end of 1990’s, in principle they were few, only Olympic disciplines, with the passage of time the Federation is grown, new equestrian disciplines are added, so, the number of departments is increased.
Each department has his own head, technical staff, commissions, employees…and now the structure became very heavy, complex and expensive, with a non-rational use of economic and human resources.
The current structure is based on specificity of the sport disciplines: in fact, each department corresponds to a specific sport discipline, (for example, show jumping, eventing, dressage, reining, endurance…); so, we could define this structure as “vertical”, in which are repeated the same elements, such as, for example, top sport, youth activity, the amateur activities, national activity and so on, while this hypothesis would propose an horizontal/transversal structure, based on targets, organizing the Federation in six areas.
It soon becomes clear that this new attitude will lead to a streamlining of the structure, resulting in the optimization of resources, both financial and human, not to mention that grouping for the same targets will lead to comparison between the various disciplines, that will bring benefits not only on managerial point of view, but also in technical matters, sharing the respective skills and experiences.
In fact, to group almost 20 departments in 6 areas is a challenge that could make FISE more functional and effective.
The Mintzberg’s organizational theory seems to identify in the best way the actual needs of FISE.
It has been assumed that the Mintzberg’s divisionalized form will be the best solution.
ORGANISING A MAJOR EVENT IN FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA SPORT EQUESTRI (ITALIAN EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION) THE LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR
Organizing an equestrian event is not a simple task, and it becomes even more challenging if we consider the organization of a world class event that is held out of a dedicated structure (riding court).
The objective of this study is to focus, present and analyze the organization of the Longines Global Champions Tour hosted in Rome in 2015, 2016 and confirmed for its third consecutive edition in 2017.
The Longines Global Champions Tour brings together the top 30 ranked show jumpers in the world to compete in prestigious locations for unprecedented prize money awards, in a 15-events Tour, which offers some of the most explosive and exciting competitions of all equestrian series.
This Event has a long and prestigious history, it spans three continents and takes place in some of the world’s greatest cities including Paris, Monaco, Madrid, Miami Beach, Shanghai, Mexico City, London, and including Doha, in Qatar, which hosts the special final event. Considering the above, to host LGCT in Rome was deemed a big opportunity and a big challenge for the Italian Federation and the Italian National Olympic Committee, organizing partner of the event. The sound partnership between the Equestrian Federation, Coni Servizi and the City of Rome has brought the Eternal city to host the LGCT for the first time in September 2015 and again in 2016.
Thanks to the huge success of the Event, it has been included the 2017 calendar. The city of Rome is one of the most visited worldwide and attracted visitors for over two millennia. Also its sporting heritage dates back to the Roman Empire.
Thus, the LGCT, which includes the most exhilarating destinations in the world, adds to the prestige of the Tour Rome’s historical, artistic and cultural background. Thanks to the joint venture with Coni Servizi, the Longines Global Champions Tour of Rome and Global Champions League is staged at the impressive Stadio dei Marmi. The stadium is one of the arenas in the Foro Italico sports area, home to the Italian Olympic Committee.
The Equestrian Federation accepted this challenge because Rome deserves to be included among the world’s great cities of the equestrian sports, and because it is a great opportunity to be staged in a public, central and prestigious context.
The present study will overview the major organizational challenges that the organization of this event faces, and focuses on the most important and strategic aspects related to the equestrian discipline and its major and paramount actor: the horse.
