The UIPM saga with OCR rolls on

Here you will find all the updates as we receive them 

The Story So far

2024 UIPM vote at their national meeting to take over the world of OCR and become the self appointed governing body for Obstacle course racing

Press release from UIPM on 11/04/2025

Statement from British Obstacle Sports on 14/04/25 

*Statement on the UIPM Obstacle World Championship Announcement* British Obstacle Sports remains a national federation under the international governance of World Obstacle. We will continue to operate as the national governing body for ninja and OCR in the UK and will support the selection process for athletes seeking to compete at international events sanctioned by World Obstacle, including the OCR European Championships (Portugal), OCR 400m European Championships (Ireland), and the OCR World Championships (Sweden).

We are very disappointed by the announcement that the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) will host an Obstacle World Championship in China for the next four years. This follows the unilateral move in November 2024 to include the governance of standalone obstacle disciplines within their statutes.

We will be seeking clarity from World Obstacle regarding its position on this event.

It is worth noting that it is not uncommon for multiple international federations to claim governance over the same sport. In parkour, for instance, three organisations—International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), International Parkour Federation (IPF), and Parkour Earth—assert international authority. While this situation is far from ideal, British Obstacle Sports will continue to work closely with World Obstacle to help resolve the current uncertainty.

Our mission is to ensure that everyone in the UK can enjoy the endless possibilities of obstacle sports. We remain committed to this mission—whether it’s a ninja furthest-fastest competition, a 24-hour World's Toughest Mudder, or everything in between.

As a volunteer-led organisation with hundreds of years of collective experience in the sport, we strongly believe in our ability to support and grow obstacle sports in the UK. Your continued support as members is crucial as we await a decision from the UK Sports Councils on our recognition application.

We are here to support any questions that you may have. You can also share your feedback through one of the following mechanisms:

General questions/feedback: membership@britishobstacle.org

National team questions/feedback: nationalteam@britishobstacle.org

We Are Listening feedback: Give your feedback here