Keeing it simple
by Tony Tilenni, HONORARY (unpaid) 1st Vice President & Vice-President for Finance, World DanceSport
It is disappointing to see the sudden torrent of emails mostly from “anonymous sources”, deceptively being sent from what appears to be a WDSF email address -- “Blackpool WDSF dancesportfestival.wdsf@gmail.com” -- and being funded by “anonymous persons”, sending these unsolicited malicious emails to try to undermine Breaking and WDSF’s bona fides, and WDSF’s upcoming competitions in Blackpool from April 11th to 13th this year.
Many of us have also received a “Financial Statement Analysis” sent by a UK Legal firm to the IOC Ethics and Compliance Officer and widely distributed worldwide.
This lawyer and this legal firm have been instructed by one of their “anonymous” clients. The “analysis” is supposedly prepared by “anonymous experts” to further denigrate WDSF. Interestingly, although I have been in charge of Finance at WDSF for more than 16 years, none of these so-called “experts” has bothered to contact me, or WDSF, before producing the misleading document.
The document is one-dimensional. It completely ignores the two most important things: the actual context, and the strategy of what occurred from 2007 to 2024.
As a professional Certified Practising Accountant and Financial Adviser who has a lifelong love and commitment to DanceSport, I know that a three-dimensional view is required. That includes context, economic circumstances, the obvious and serious financial and operational impacts of the COVID19 pandemic, and the entry of Breaking to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
WDSF looks forward to these persons fully exposing themselves, their propaganda, and their illegal and unethical behaviours. However, I doubt that all their true backers of this campaign will ever expose themselves.
In the meantime, as the WDSF’s Finance Vice President, I am going to truthfully seek to “make the complex simple” and provide to everyone in plain English the effective and hugely successful financial and operational strategy that has supported what previously appeared to be the impossible entry of a dance discipline and culture – Breaking’s growth as part of WDSF and its entry into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Unlike some people, I am not going to try to baffle you with numbers and graphs and charts, or anonymous claims, anonymous experts, and one-dimensional financial opinions, that never tell
the full or accurate story of what has and is occurring. I’m just going to say it in English.
I also refer you to the WDSF website for a letter from President Tay, and even more complete
explanations of some of the unfounded and malicious claims being made.
I emphasize though that the success of Breaking and its entry to Paris 2024 would not have been
possible without the amazing work of the WDSF officers/staff, and a team of collaborative and high-profile members of the Breaking community.
I produce in the next few pages a concise Executive Summary, where I provide a brief overview.
Then I provide a Deeper Background and Overview for those of you who wish more information without having to refer to a lot of numbers, tables, charts and anonymous derogatory and accusative content.
Executive Summary
- In 2008, the year after I was elected as WDSF Treasurer (now called Vice President for Finance), I made it very clear that my and WDSF’s strategy and goals were to build over many years a financial base of at least CHF2.5 million.
- By 2014 we built a capital base of over CHF3 million.
- Progressively spend the cash to seek to include a dance discipline in the Olympics.
- In 2016 the IOC accepted Breaking into the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
- WDSF spent CHF 1.2 million net of WDSF members’ cash on Breaking in the 2018 YOG, including paying an initial team of Breakers and a consultant not just for 2 but for some 6 years.
- WDSF protected the athletes and Breaking generally from a range of actors who were either conflicted or did not really understand what was required.
- From 2018 to 2020 we continued risking/spending/investing cash on Breaking without knowing if we could get Breaking into Paris 2024, or if we would ever be able to recover the monies we were investing.
- In March 2020, the COVID Pandemic suddenly overwhelmed the world’s health and finances, and WDSF had to save CHF2 million over two years just to survive.
- But we continued investing in Breaking and only 9 months later, in December 2020, the IOC confirmed that Breaking would be part of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- In 2021, the IOC and WDSF negotiated a funding package of US$ 3.1 million for the Road to Paris, related projects, and the Olympic Qualifier Series.
- In 2023 we worked diligently to get Breaking into LA28, but the LA28 Organizing Committee had a different vision for their edition of the Games and did not accept Breaking.
- In 2022 and 2023, with a team of high-profile Breakers we developed a qualification system and structure accepted by the IOC, which included 68 qualifying competitions on all Continents.
- In 2024, we had incredible success with Breaking in the Olympic Qualifier Series.
- In 2024, we also had a dazzling launch for Breaking at Paris 2024 with 22,000 people attending 4 sold-out sessions at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
- From 2017 to 2023, per our audited accounts, WDSF spent CHF 3,011,337 (without including some other additional overhead costs).
- We still need to finalize the accounts to confirm what WDSF spent on Breaking in 2024, but from 2017 to the 2023 year, WDSF per the Audited accounts has spent over CHF3 million, has been able to repay its spending, and rebuilt capital to probably CHF 2.8 million.
- In 2025 and beyond, we continue to financially support Breaking – it’s an Olympic “ongoing journey and not a destination”.
- The more detailed explanation below shows how many high-level events Breaking has participated in since WDSF’s involvement in Breaking started.
- There are even more high-level events over the next few years, including the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal – Breaking continues to be a valued part of the Olympic family and we continue to strongly advocate for Breaking’s inclusion in all future Olympic Games.
Deeper Background, Goals, Strategy
- From 2008, the strategy was to build up a substantial capital base of at least CHF2,500,000 to then spend, as we worked to achieve our dream of getting a dance discipline into the Olympic Games. The question was, which dance discipline – there were no guarantees!
- By the 2014 year, we successfully built a capital base of over CHF3,000,000. This cash “treasure” came from National Member Bodies and athletes primarily in the Latin & Standard disciplines, and this allowed us to start investing for our possible Olympic future!
- In late 2016, the IOC confirmed that the dance discipline to enter the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Argentina would be Breaking. We vowed to do everything in our power to make Breaking a huge success in the 2018 YOG.
- We invested some CHF1,200,000 net, after income and overhead costs, of limited members’ capital. The entry of Breaking in the 2018 YOG was a huge success.
- After 2018, we had to keep investing cash to hopefully support Breaking’s entry to Paris 2024.
- During this time WDSF protected the athletes and Breaking generally from a range of actors who were either conflicted, had no deep understanding of what was required to succeed, and to ensure that Breaking could be part of a reputable IOC Recognized Sports Federation. WDSF refused to sell the soul of Breaking to commercial or conflicted interests for money.
- In March 2020, the COVID19 Pandemic created enormous financial and operational challenges which from March 17th 2020 resulted in my severely cutting some CHF2,000,000 in spending over some two years just to survive, but we continued to strongly financially support Breaking. At the time, the WDSF competition system came to a complete standstill due to the crushing COVID19 health and travel restrictions. Many Federations and businesses did not survive.
- In December 2020, the IOC trusted WDSF to secure Breaking’s development and historic entry to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
- In 2021, the IOC and WDSF negotiated a funding package of $US3,100,000 for the Road to Paris, Related Projects, and the Olympic Qualifier Series, which was subsequently conducted in 2024 in Shanghai and Budapest. The IOC was a wonderful sports partner for WDSF. Subsequently, I also confirm that there was additional development and Olympic Solidarity funding leading up to Paris 2024.
- After the financial impacts of COVID19, the financial recovery process began in 2021 and continues even to this day and into the future.
- In 2023, WDSF was invited by the LA28 Organizing Committee (OC) to seek entry to the 2028 Olympic Games. Despite an enormous amount of diligent work, very strong personal presentations, videos and submissions, and a significant financial cost funded by WDSF, the LA28 OC had a different vision, one based on team sports, and Breaking was not included.
- In late 2022 and 2023, with the strong collaboration of a team of highly respected Breakers, WDSF created an international competition structure, updated the Breaking rule book as a “living” document, judging education & accreditation, and created a qualification system, and an International Sports Competition structure for the Olympic Games.
- WDSF conducted a “dazzling” entry for Breaking in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. With some 22,000 highly engaged spectators over four full-house sessions.
- WDSF is even now continuing to invest money for Breaking – it is definitely not a “destination but an ongoing journey” for Breaking as part of the Olympic family.
- In 2024, WDSF has finally been able to restore its capital base to around CHF2.8 million, after 8 years of strongly supporting Breaking from the 2016 to the 2024 year. I highlight that we do not yet have final numbers for the 2024 year, as we are still to complete the financial statements and audit for this year.
- The Swiss network SRF who was clearly contacted by some of the same Anonymous persons, has produced an article and broadcast a very critical video about WDSF and Breaking; but what they say is wrong and biased against WDSF. WDSF’s audited annual financial statements clearly show that the spending, excluding some additional overhead costs (if included, overall actual spending would be even higher than listed below), was as follows to promote Breaking and our Olympic objectives from 2017 onwards:
2017 – 579,257 CHF
2018 – 559,861 CHF – This is the only figure used in the video by SRF
2019 – 184,500 CHF
2020 – 178,000 CHF – COVID-19 & IOC accepts Breaking-Paris 2024
2021 – 249,402 CHF
2022 – 368,135 CHF
2023 – 892,182 CHF
2024 – To be finalized – PARIS 24 OLYMPICS
TOTAL: 3,011,337 CHF (excluding some additional overhead costs) - This total figure still does not include what was spent by WDSF in the 2024 financial year spending, including for Paris 2024.
- Neither does it include all overhead costs, or our continuing financial commitments to Breaking such as supporting our core group of Breakers and meeting costs for WDSF’s participation in a range of Olympic family events, including The World Games 2025, and costs relating to (a) World and International Breaking Championships, (b) the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, (c) the Pan American Junior Games, and (d) the Francophonie Games.
- As you can see, because of the WDSF’s ongoing commitments, all money will be fully expended. Clearly there has been no misuse of funds as alleged in the Swiss SRF reporting.
Since 2016, WDSF has an impressive and successful record with Breaking while providing significant financial and operational support, which made the following past and future events possible:
- the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal;
- the 2019 World Championship in China
- the 2021 World Championship in France
- the 2022 World Championship in South Korea
- the 2023 World Championship in Belgium
- the 2023 World Games;
- the 2023 Asian Games;
- the 2023 European Games;
- the 2023 Pan American Games;
- the 2024 IOC Breaking Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) - including 68 qualifier competitions over five Continents before the OQS;
- the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France;
- the 2024 WDSF World Adult & World Youth Championships and in the future, even more events, many as part of the Olympic Movement:
- the 2025 World Games;
- the Pan American Junior Games;
- the 2026 Youth Olympic Games;
- the Francophonie Games;
- WDSF World & Continental Championships;
- and many regional competitions.
- WDSF will work hard to seek entry for Breaking into future Olympic Games
Overall Summary
Since 2017, WDSF has been enabling Breaking to evolve as part of an IOC Internationally Recognized sports structure, in compliance with IOC policies and practices.
Considering how many past and future events WDSF have been able to collaboratively work with the Breaking community, WDSF and our core team of Breakers have been hugely successful for athletes and Breaking, in a comparatively short period of time.
It can be comprehensively proven that WDSF has acted honestly, with integrity, in the best interest of all athletes, all disciplines, while advancing the evolution of Breaking as an Olympic discipline.
We take great pride in what has and what will be achieved for Breaking as part of the Olympic family.
With my very best wishes,
Tony Tilenni
WDSF 1st Vice-President & Vice-President for Finance