WorldHumorFederation

World Humor Federation
AbbreviationWHF
Formation2022
TypeInternational sports federation
HeadquartersVilnius, Lithuania
Region served
Worldwide
Director
Richardas Vitchas
Websiteworldhumor.org

The World Humor Federation (WHF) is an international sports organization uniting humor athletes, leagues, clubs, and national federations. Its main goal is the development of humor as an independent sport discipline. The federation’s motto is “Humor is Sport.”

By 2025, WHF had organized over 80 competitions with participants from Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Spain.

History

The concept of positioning humor as a sport began to take shape in the mid-1990s. At that time, comedic performances were mostly considered entertainment shows, often limited by editorial and producer gatekeeping.

One of the first steps toward implementing humor as a sport came from the creative group "Shiza", led by Richardas Vitchas. With experience in humor production and sports club management, he promoted the application of sporting principles — open competition, objective judging, and freedom from censorship — in the comedy scene.[1]

Throughout the early 2000s, attempts were made to adapt the concept for TV and stage formats, but sustained support was lacking in the existing showbiz system. In 2015, a video version of the competition was created, and test events were held.The History of the Creation of the World Humor Federation

In 2022, the World Humor Federation (WHF) was officially founded, organizing open competitions free from censorship and favoritism[2]. That year, the first official stand-up tournaments were held. In 2023, national championships took place in Lithuania and Poland under WHF. The federation continues expanding geographically and supports the creation of national and regional branches.

Mission and goals

  • To establish humor as a fully recognized sport, with genres like stand-up and sketch comedy as disciplines.[3]
  • To promote humor as an official sport.
  • To standardize disciplines and judging criteria.
  • To organize national and international championships.
  • To build a ranking system for participants.
  • To unite national federations and comedy clubs into an international sports community.

WHF aims to free humor from censorship and subjective producer control, offering a fair competition model where the best performer wins, not the most “convenient” one.

Disciplines

Main WHF competition formats include:[4]

  • Stand-up comedy — solo monologue performance.
  • Sketch comedy — a short scene or sketch for two to five people.
  • Humor Decathlon — a 10-part competition covering different humor types (improvisation, parody, meme, joke, commentary, etc.).
  • Panel comedy — group performances (5+ members).
  • Humor Quiz — quiz format with humorous content.

Structure and governance

WHF is governed through its headquarters in Vilnius and a network of national and regional federations. WHF sets and approves standardized competition rules, ranking systems, and the official calendar.

Participants and clubs

WHF accepts both individual participants and professional humor clubs.[5]. Participants can represent their country, region, or club.

How to participate:

  • Pass an open mic audition.
  • Register on the website as an individual or club representative.[6]
  • Represent your country at national or international tournaments.

Participants may change club/city/affiliation once a year (November 1 – March 1).

Participation and rules

WHF competitions follow clear rules[7]. Comedians perform original, uncensored material. Judges evaluate performances based on established criteria.[8] Tournaments can be mixed-gender or gender-divided.

Participants compete under their country of citizenship or residence. Regional or club representation is also allowed. For TV and archived recordings, participants wear a sleeveless shirt in the colors of their country, city, or club.[9]

Any language is allowed in national tournaments. In international tournaments, one or more official languages are used. Currently, competitions are held in English, Lithuanian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Polish. Additional languages may be introduced as the federation expands.

Tournaments and championships

WHF hosts competitions at various levels[10]:

  • Open mic (qualifying)
  • Regional tournaments
  • National championships
  • World and continental events (in development)

Rankings and satistics

WHF uses a points-based ranking system where participants earn scores for performances and victories. The system borrows elements from Formula 1 and ATP tennis rankings. Comedian rankings are published monthly on the WHF[11] website and social media.

National federations

As of 2024, official WHF branches[12] exist in:

Competitions in these countries are held in packed venues (ticketed events), with regular media coverage and promotional campaigns. Each game is followed by official written[13] and photo[14] reports.

Expansion into other countries is planned.[15]

Competition results

Year Event 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Notes
2024 Lithuania Lithuania Stand-Up Cup Lithuania Vika Vezhbetskité AIN Shura Kazakhstan Samat [16]
2024 Poland Poland Stand-Up Cup Poland – Poland – Poland –
2025 Lithuania Lithuania Stand-Up Cup Lithuania Dima Sarbay AIN Mila Tinsky Lithuania Nikita [17]

Continental and global competitions

The Open European Stand-Up Championship (in Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian) is planned for 2026–2027. The Lithuanian-language Stand-Up Championship is expected to gain World Championship status in 2027.

Values and principles

  • No censorship: participants are responsible for their jokes, but no topic is off-limits.
  • Clear judging rules: a professional jury and voting system are in place. WHF developed humor evaluation criteria as a sport.
  • Full equality: no quotas, no “star performers,” no producer interference.
  • Open platform: any comedian, regardless of experience, can join WHF competitions.

Brand bartnerships

WHF collaborates with commercial partners interested in a young, creative, free-thinking audience and in humor as a new sport.[18] Current partners include:

Media and digital presence

WHF actively publishes announcements, results, and updates via:

Tournament videos are archived by the federation.

Leadership

  • Director and founder — Richardas Vitchas

See also

References

  1. ^ "Interview by Richardas Vitchas to the Bashinform news agency". www.bashinform.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  2. ^ "Interview by Richardas Witchas to Lithuanian State Television". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  3. ^ "Interview with the head of WHF on the Lithuanian radio station Radio R". 10 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Types of humor and disciplines". World Humor Federation.
  5. ^ "What is a Professional Humor Club?".
  6. ^ "How to participate in the games?". World Humor Federation.
  7. ^ "WHF Rules". WHF Rules.
  8. ^ "How to evaluate humor?". WHF Humor Evaluation Rules.
  9. ^ "Citizenship, transfers, and official uniforms".
  10. ^ "WHF Official Games Calendar".
  11. ^ "Check out the "WHF Competition Rankings"".
  12. ^ "National and regional WHF federations".
  13. ^ "Written reports and reviews from WHF competitions". Reviews, reports, and announcements of all WHF games — right here.
  14. ^ "Photo reports from WHF games". Facebook.
  15. ^ "How to organize games in your city / country?". WHF.
  16. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  17. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  18. ^ "Information about cooperation with partners".
  19. ^ "Interview with WHF comedian Samat Sahiev". 23 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Финал Открытого чемпионата Литвы по юмору 2025". Delfi RU (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.