The Speleology French Federation has been bringing together speleologists, underground divers and canonists since 1963. With a network of associations, clubs, departmental and regional committees, spread throughout the territory, the Speleology French Federation, with more than 7,000 licensees, is the essential contact for information on the practice of caving and canyoning.
The Speleology French Federation aims at :
- UNITE and bring together all those who practice caving and canyoning, and particularly the exploration of natural and artificial underground environment.
- PROMOTE these practices and organize events.
- STUDY and PROTECT the underground world.
- SECURE the practice and the practitioners through missions of civil security, prevention, training and organization of rescue in underground environments.
Purposefully, the FFS :
- Contributes to heritage assessments of the underground environments.
- Explores and studies underground networks and karst for knowledge.
- Actively contributes to the protection and management of the underground heritage : geological, archaeological, paleontological, biodiversity, water, pollution.
- Establishes a methodology to assess the impacts of caving and canyoning : impact study protocol.
- Trains practitioners to the good practice of caving and canyoning through a wide training schedule.
- Communicates, informs, raises awareness and promotes its actions among its members, the general public and communities.
As a member of the college of non-olympic sports federations within the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), the FFS is invested by the Ministry of Sports with a public service mission. In addition, it is approved by the Ministry of the Interior as an actor in civil security. Finally, it is recognized as a nature protection association and has the approval of the Ministry of the Environment.