The first 40 years of Aerobic Sport
In 1983, at the beginning of the aerobics and fitness movement, Sport Fitness International (SFI), founded by Los Angeles sports marketers Howard and Karen Schwartz, took aerobics from a fitness activity and developed it into a competitive discipline.
Sport Fitness International conducted the first National Aerobic Championship (NAC) in the USA in 1984.
From its inception, competitive aerobics captured the attention and earned the respect of athletes who were drawn to it by the challenge and excitement of its high-performance standard. Competitive aerobics was created as a showcase for athletes of all ages to demonstrate excellence in the fitness components of muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, coordination, and artistic performance skills.
It was the way for participants and instructors alike to test their abilities in head-to-head athletic competition.
From 1986, the sport witnessed a vast and rapid development, as countries around the world joined the USA: Canada, Japan, and Brazil were the first ones, quickly followed by the UK, Italy, and many more.
Important brands such as Evian, Crystal Light, and Reebok sponsored the Championship and helped its constant growth in visibility, number of athletes, and audience attendance.
In 1989 the non-profit United States Competitive Aerobics Federation (USCAF) was founded by SFI as the governing body for competitive aerobics in the USA and the Association of National Aerobic Championships (ANAC, formerly the ICAF – International Competitive Aerobic Federation) its governing body worldwide.
In 1989 the non-profit United States Competitive Aerobics Federation (USCAF) was founded by SFI as the governing body for competitive aerobics in the USA and the Association of National Aerobic Championships (ANAC, formerly the ICAF – International Competitive Aerobic Federation) its governing body worldwide.
In May of 1990, the 1st World Aerobic Championship was held in San Diego, California featuring athletes from 16 ANAC member countries.
The USA National and World Aerobic Championship were broadcast for years in syndication and later on ESPN, ESPN 2, and Eurosport, reaching and entertaining millions of viewers worldwide.
As Competitive Aerobics technical level accelerated, athletes from many disciplines in addition to fitness instructors were drawn to the sport, and NAC renamed it “Sportaerobics”.
In 1995 the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) announced its intention to add Sportaerobics among the disciplines of gymnastics.
On January 13, 1997, FIG signed an agreement of cooperation with ANAC and IAF (the organization that hosts the Suzuki World Cup in Japan) that together they would further develop Sportaerobics worldwide with the goal to attain IOC recognition as an Olympic Sport. This resulted in the FIG later changing the name of Sportaerobics to “Aerobic Gymnastics” and adding to the fitness and dance-oriented routine the performance of a required number of 16 difficulty elements from the gymnastics discipline.
Sport aerobics was added to the World Games in August 1997.
In 1998 ANAC was the first organization to launch Youth Sportaerobics for 7 – 17-year-olds, and the first ANAC World Youth Sportaerobics Championship was conducted.
In 2000, ANAC and IAF jointly developed the Common Rules, a highly innovative system of competition rules and regulations, still considered by many as “the best set of rules ever”, to encourage athletes’ participation in both circuits. Within the Common Rules, the artistic level of the routines was highlighted, the intensity of the performance was emphasized, and there was a great balance between technical components, difficulty, and aerobic content.
In 2004, the ANAC approved the FIG code of points, allowing FIG athletes to compete in the ANAC circuit, and changing the original World Aerobic Championship name to the International Aerobic Championship.
The International Aerobic Championship was presented from 2005 to 2019, and, for a few years, was one of the four events within the FIG World Series.
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of aerobics as a sport. FIG President Morinari Watanabe released an official statement acknowledging the contribution by Howard and Karen to creating the sport:
Aerobic Gymnastics owes a lot to Howard and Karen Schwartz, who transformed aerobics from a fitness activity into a competitive sport. It is thanks to their commitment that the FIG has been able to develop Aerobic Gymnastics as one of its eight disciplines and see it featured on the programme of The World Games since 1997.
The sport of Aerobic Gymnastics has come a long way since I first met Howard Schwartz at the Japan National Aerobic Championship in the early 1990s. I would like to thank Howard and Karen for their dedication to the sport and the ANAC for helping to develop Aerobic Gymnastics as a competitive sport.
In 2024, the FIG is holding its 18th Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships in Pesaro, Italy. I am proud that the FIG is able to continue the development of this sport and I always look forward to seeing this high-energy combination of dance and fitness at international level.