The event is officially known as "The World Games", spelled with a capital T.[2] The first edition of The World Games was held in Santa Clara, California, United States, in 1981, and the eleventh edition was held in Birmingham, Alabama, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022.
Realising that there were few opportunities to become part of the Olympic program, non-Olympic federations wanted to form their own showcase event to increase the publicity of their sports, which they called The World Games.
These federations formed a steering group in early 1979 to decide on the structure and principles of the games and search for a venue.
In May 1979, the steering group announced that they had found a venue for the first event: Santa Clara, USA.
It was opened by Kim Un-yong, president of the World Games executive committee, at Buck Shaw Stadium.
This led to the organisers of The World Games in The Hague (1993) asking the participants to pay accommodation costs.
Airsports, dancesport, aerobics and jujitsu made their debut in Lahti and have been contested at the Games ever since.
Both the raffa and lyonnaise disciplines of boules were cancelled after a storm destroyed the venue and it could not be repaired in time.
[18] In 2015, it was announced that the 11th edition of The World Games was to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA in 2021, beating bids from Lima, Peru and Ufa, Russia.
[23] The IWGA is also aiming to secure a partnership with the International Paralympic Committee and include a quota for para-athletes.
[24] In order for hosting to be sustainable, organisers of The World Games are not required to build any new venues or facilities.
[25] Athletes stayed at the student accommodations of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), several of whose sports facilities were used for various events.
[28] The selections are intended to "achieve a satisfactory balance between competitors' positions on world ranking lists and the fair representation of as many as possible of its member nations".
Parading of flags, speeches and official opening also make up the required parts of the ceremony.
Sports that depend on the availability of snow or ice for competitions are ineligible for inclusion in The World Games.
[1]: 10–11 José Perurena, IWGA President, stated, "In Birmingham, for the first time, invitational sports were no longer presented separately but were also part of the official programme.
For the first time ever, a paralympic sport was part of the program as a wheelchair rugby tournament was held.
These include the lyonnaise discipline of boules sports, beach handball, sumo, and indoor tug of war.
Target archery is currently on the programs of both, but The World Games only holds events in divisions that are not contested in the Olympics.
Among such sports are: Rhönrad (Wheel Gymnastics),[52] Karlsruhe-based Ring Tennis,[52] Skateboard,[52] Baton twirling[53][b 1] and others.