About US Aerial Federation & Pole Sports

Vision & Mission

Vision

Our vision is "to enable our instructors, judges, practitioners, and much of the Pole and Aerial Sport movement to achieve their full potential in all aspects of the Pole and Aerial sport."

Our Mission

Our mission is to "inspire people to participate in safe & effective Pole & Aerial sports around the United States of America". Through our eight main goals listed below, we can achieve this vision and carry out our mission.

Pole & Aerial Sports Focus

We want to enable and inspire all coaches, judges, athletes, and enthusiasts to practice Pole & Aerial Sports, by providing opportunities for individuals to engage, develop, and realize their potential in all aspects of the sport, regardless of age, background, ability, or disability.

International Success

We want our sport to be recognized nationally & internationally with representation at several sporting events, the World Games, and eventually at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Deliver Partnership

We want to develop strong internal and external partnerships at all levels, to provide opportunities, structures, & support for Pole and Aerial Sports and our Pole and Aerial community.

Raise the profile of Pole Sports

We want to spread and inform the public about the full range of Pole sports activities, leading to increased recognition, sponsorship, funding, access, & participation in our sport.

Athlete Support

The development of a comprehensive Pole and Aerial Sport structure & the community to support athletes for careers once they have finished within the competitive context. We want

to build a long-term sustainable future for Pole and Aerial Athletes.

Trainer support

We want a cohesive, ethical, inclusive, and valued coaching system where talented coaches act as a support stick for athletes at all stages of their development.

Anti-Doping

Our goal is to maintain an Anti-Doping program in accordance with the World Anti-Doping

Agency (WADA) Code, which is recognized as the highest standard of fairness, equality, &

integrity in all sports and all countries.

Check & regulate

To fairly and comprehensively control and regulate Pole and Aerial Sports, from a national

perspective, in all regions.

Pole Sports News

"From the idea to create a sport from Pole to GAISF Observer Status has taken less than 10 years... The possibilities of our sport are endless!"

Katie Coates - President IPSF
The International Pole Sports Federation was founded in 2009 by Tim Trautman and Katie Coates to unite athletes, coaches, judges, and enthusiasts.

The concept of Pole as a sport dates back to 2006 after pole became a popular fitness form in 2000 and pole competitions started gaining popularity. Competitions had little or no scoring or judging criteria, no way of consistently awarding points to those athletes that were technically and artistically superior, and rules consisted of very little in the way of guidance on what the judges were and were not looking for.

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In 2006, a survey was carried out by Katie Coates to see how the pole community felt about Pole Sports becoming an Olympic Sport; over 10,000 voted in favor. In 2008, Tim Trautman of the USA began working with Katie at the International Pole Sports Federation, and the term Pole Sports was created, transforming Pole forever from a physical activity performed socially and for fitness, into an international sport and competition.
Soon, national federations began forming and competitive teams were organized. The 1st World Pole Sports Championships took place in 2012 with just 43 athletes from 14 countries; only 5 were men. 2013 saw the launch of the Youth category with just 7 athletes. Just 5 years later, in 2017, there was an increase of over 80% in participation in the youth category; in total, 229 athletes from 36 countries competed on the World Pole Sports stage.
By mid-2011, an estimated 95 percent of all Pole Sports Athletes were girls and women; as a consequence, the feedback from the IOC has been to improve the balance of genders, which the IPSF has pushed to do. In 2017, male junior and novice categories were opened for the first time, which helped to increase male participation by more than 70%.
In 2014 the IPSF contacted GAISF regarding the application process, and the road to recognition began. The IPSF began aligning itself to the GAISF and IOC criteria, expanding national federations to 25 with a further 12 in the application process.
Development of the sport over the years:
- 2009 – Formation of the IPSF
- 2011 – The first Code of Points was created for Pole
- 2012 – First World Championships
- 2013 – Introduction of a youth program
- 2014 – First contact with Sport Accord (now GAISF)
- 2014 – Anti-Doping program introduced
- 2015 – First application to Sport Accord (now GAISF)
- 2016 – Approved as a WADA signatory
- 2016 – The introduction of Ultra Pole
- 2016 – Applied to the IOC for membership
- 2017 – Signed a trilateral agreement with the FIG & GAISF to allow the IPSF membership of GAISF
- 2017 – The introduction of Artistic Pole & Para Pole
- 2017 – Observer Status granted by GAISF

The US Aerial Federation Board

President —Tanya Christopher

Tanya Christopher discovered Pole and Aerial at the age of 23 years old in the year 2007. Tanya was a competitive dancer and tumbler since the age of 4. She taught children dance and tumbling in over 20 schools and was also a contracted professional choreographer for over 10 years.

Tanya went to school for Business and Accounting and opened her studio, “Amorous Dance Pole and Fitness” on September 26th, 2011. Tanya is now going on over 12 years of strong, successful business and over 17 years of experience with teaching Pole and Aerial.

Tanya is the President of the US Aerial Federation. She focuses on the core functions of the organization to enable it to achieve its long-term vision. Areas of focus include strategy, finance, board management, fundraising, and program delivery.

Vice President/ Athletes Chair —

Alysa Helvig

Alysa Helvig (she/her) is originally from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, having moved to Virginia and later South Carolina in 2018. She has been practicing pole sports since 2015 and has a Pole Fitness Instructor Certification with the ADPAF. Alysa is also a certified Judge under the International Pole Sports Federation.

Professionally, Alysa has historically been a hands-on technician, whether it’s behind the scenes in stage and film production or repairing computers. By day, she works as a content risk program manager in Charleston, South Carolina.

As Vice President, Alysa plans, develops and enforces policies and objectives for the organization to ensure it maintains its values and meets established goals.

Alysa will also manage all facets of an athletic program, including scheduling, hiring coaches, promoting programs and events, ordering equipment, constructing budgets, and facilitating

the program.

Treasurer—Thomas J Emig

Thomas is a Certified Public Accountant with over 40 years of experience in the field of accounting and finance. He has extensive experience working as an auditor, controller, and chief financial officer.

Working in both the private sector as well as with non-profits, Thomas has expertise in developing and managing successful Finance, Human Resources, IT, and Operational Departments such as payroll and management reporting.

Thomas will oversee the organization’s financial administration. This includes managing cash flow, paying and recording bills, maintaining a record of debt, selecting a bank, and reconciling statements.

Secretary— Shannon Zeilinger

Shannon is a native Charlestonian and began her pole journey in 2013. She fell in love with pole sports as a fitness routine and loves the athletic aspect of the sport. She is passionate about promoting the sport to a wide audience. Shannon worked in various healthcare roles, including pharmacy technician and registered nurse, for more than 20 years and is now enjoying her role as a stay-at-home mom to an adorable boy. Shannon brings her time management, organizational, and great interpersonal communication skills to

this board.

The board secretary ensures that all critical documents are organized, safely stored, and readily accessible to other board members and staff leadership.

Governance & Ethics Committee Chair—JoAnn Galliano

JoAnn has had experience working with the pole association as an assistant to the judges. In this position, she was responsible for assisting the judges and ensuring the judges had the tools needed to fairly judge the completion. JoAnn had previous experience as president of a nonprofit in California and currently serves as an educational consultant to a California state board.

JoAnn will utilize her knowledge to oversee Board compliance with USAF Bylaws and Policies.

Media & Marketing Committee Chair—Alexandria Barnett

Alexandria Barnett is a dynamic force in the world of media and aerial arts, Beginning her aerial journey in 2019, she is dedicated to empowering individuals to reach new heights. With a diverse skill set and a passion for innovation, she plans to make a significant impact on the Pole & Aerial Community.

In addition to her extensive background, Alexandria proudly serves as the Media Director for the United States Aerial Federation (USAF). In this role, she combines her love of Pole & Aerial skills with her expertise in Media/Communications. She plans in this role to oversee the federation's media strategy, aid in managing content creation, and ensuring that the inspiring stories and achievements of aerial artists competing across the nation are shared with our global community.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a background in Social Media Analytics, Public Relations, and Media Training, Alexandria possesses a unique blend of skills that allow her to excel. She leverages her proficiency in communication and her passion for the aerial arts to elevate the visibility and impact of the United States Aerial Federation.

Membership Chair— Lexi Mueller

Lexi Mueller is an ambitious new Poler and Aerialist with just over a year of experience. Currently residing in Charleston after graduating with two bachelors degrees in may of 2022.

Outside of Pole and Aerial Lexi is an elementary teacher working with special education students.

As Membership Chair, Lexi oversees the recruitment, retention, and engagement of members within an organization, which includes tasks like identifying potential members, managing the membership application process, organizing member events, maintaining accurate membership data, and fostering positive relationships with existing members to ensure their continued participation.

Anti-Doping Chair= Stacey Shapiro

Sponsorship & Fundraising Committee Chair= Katherine B.

Finance Committee

Virginia Marshall
Katie Beavers

Policy of the US Aerial Federation—GDPR

The US Aerial Federation processes certain personal data. This data is used, among other things, to keep order in member registries, to organize the US Aerial Federation Championship in Pole & Aerial & the members' participation in the Aerial Championships & World Championships in Pole & Aerial. There are special rules for how personal data must be handled securely. In May 2018, the Personal Data Act (1998:294) (PUL) was replaced by the Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which entails changed requirements for handling personal data. Due to these changes, we have supplemented the membership terms & conditions with a privacy policy which, among other things, describes how & why we save your personal data, as well as what rights you have with regard to your personal data.