Socialist Workers' Sport International

The Socialist Workers' Sport International was an international socialist sporting organisation. It was based in Lucerne and founded in 1920. At first, it was called the International Association for Sports and Physical Culture, and it was also known informally as the Lucerne Sport International. In 1926, it changed its name to Socialist Workers' Sport International, or SASI.

When it started, SASI had six national federations with about one million members together. Julius Deutsch, an important Austro-Marxist leader, was its president. The group aimed to promote sports among workers and support socialist ideas through athletic activities.

Later, in 1946, a new organisation called the International Labour Sports Federation was created to continue SASI's work.

Foundation

In 1913, workers from different countries met in Ghent, Belgium to talk about creating a group for sports. But then the First World War started, and they had to stop. After the war, two men from Belgium, Gaston Bridoux and Jules Devlieger, started planning again. They had meetings in Seraing, Belgium in 1919 and in Paris, France in 1920. Finally, in September 1920, they had a big meeting in Lucerne to officially start the group. Some people from France and Belgium wanted to not use the word "Socialist" in the group's name so more people would join.

Politics

The Socialist Workers' Sport International followed a rule of staying neutral about political parties. This idea came from the German workers' sports movement, which wanted to avoid fights between different socialist groups. However, communists disagreed, saying workers' sports could not stay out of big political battles.

In 1921, the Communist International decided to create its own sports group, called Sportintern. This new group often criticized the main workers' sports group based in Lucerne. Tensions grew, especially when communist members left some groups.

Later, at meetings, some groups tried to bring the two sports organizations together, but this did not happen. Over time, some members switched sides. Before big sports events, like the Workers Olympiad in 1925, there were arguments about whether certain teams could join. Eventually, the two groups stopped working together and even stopped each other from joining major events.

Workers' Olympiads

The Socialist Workers' Sport International organized special sports events called International Workers' Olympiads. These events were meant to be an alternative to the regular Olympics. Instead of using flags from different countries, they used a special red flag.

The first Workers' Olympiad happened in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1925. Many people watched, and some new records were set in races. The second Workers' Olympiad was in Vienna, Austria, in 1931, with even more athletes and spectators than the regular Olympics that year. Later events were also held in Austria, Belgium, and plans were made for one in Finland, though it never happened.

Affiliates

The Socialist Workers' Sport International had many groups from different countries that joined together. These included the British Workers' Sports Association, Morgnshtern which was a group for Jewish people in Poland, the Polish Workers' Sport Federation, Hapoel, the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation, and the Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund. Other groups like the Federation Sportive du Travail and groups from Alsace and Lorraine in France were also part of it at different times.

Membership

By 1931, the Socialist Workers' Sport International reported its membership numbers.