It is not an exaggeration to say that the Federation Internationale Des Societes Magiques (FISM) is the Olympics of magic. Fifty -six clubs representing thirty countries were represented at FISM 2000 in Lisbon, Portugal.

FISM holds a convention every three years, in a variety of countries. The largest (and longest) event of the 6-day affair is the competition. In order to win the Grand Prix, a competitor must belong to a FISM member organization. For Canadians this has meant that our magicians had to be members of an organization based in another country, typically the IBM or SAM. Fortunately, most magicians are a member of one or both of these fine organizations; however, it was felt that it would be of benefit to our competitors if their own country could support them. For this reason, one of the first goals of The Canadian Association of Magicians was to join FISM. As an organization it was required that 2 member clubs sponsor us. Jerry Schnepp, president of the IBM and Jann Wherry-Goodsell, president of the SAM both graciously offered to send letters of recommendation to FISM. At their business meeting in Lisbon, the board of directors and representatives of the FISM countries voted to accept Canada represented by the CAM as a fellow member.

The competitors at FISM vary from excellent to weak. It is often quite easy to predict at which end of the spectrum an act will fall simply by looking at the country from which it comes. Some countries only send their best, while others don't appear to take pride in the material they are willing to sponsor. The CAM decided that it wanted Canada to have only strong acts represented on this world stage. To that end it was decided that in order to be sponsored by Canada, a magician will have had to win at least one competition at a major convention such as the IBM or SAM or win three minor competitions provided there are at least 6 competitors.

We are proud to finally be recognized by FISM and would like to thank the sponsoring countries and the countries that voted for us, for their support.

In line with other national magic clubs, we held held our first national convention, June 8-10 2001 in Waterloo Ontario, an hours drive west of Toronto. Again we are scheduled to hold a convention next in 2003.

The Canadian Association of Magicians is continuing to grow both nationally and internationally. We have members from every province as well as the Northwest Territories, and several members in both the United States and India. We welcome magicians to join us in working together, along side the IBM and SAM to give magicians a sense of community in Canada and the world.