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The International Paralympic Committee |
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the international governing body of sports for athletes with a disability and acts as the International Federation for 13 sports. It supervises and co-ordinates the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games and other multi-disability competitions, including the World Championships. The IPC also supports the recruitment and development of athletes at a local, national and international level across all performance levels.
The IPC was founded on September 22, 1989 as an international non-profit organization formed and run by around 160 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The organization has a democratic constitution and structure, made up of elected representatives. The four IOSDs are:
• CP-ISRA: Cerebral Palsy International Sport and Recreation Association
• IBSA: International Blind Sports Association
• INAS-FID: International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability
• IWAS: International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation
Whereas other international sports organizations for athletes with a disability are either limited to one disability group or to one specific sport, the IPC--as an umbrella organization--represents several sports and disabilities. The national sports organizations, which created the IPC, are convinced that the future of sport for persons with a disability lies in bringing together athletes with different abilities to hold joint competitions.
As time went by, multi-disability competitions developed, which later became included in the Paralympic Games. The Paralympics were growing fast and became important international sport events. The need to govern the Games more efficiently and to speak with one voice to the IOC resulted in the foundation of the ICC, the "International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports Organizations for the Disabled" in 1982. Only five years later, the ICC was to be replaced by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It was the strong wish of the member nations to form this organization with a democratic constitution and elected representatives. The IPC was finally founded in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1989.
The Winter Paralympics in Lillehammer in 1994 were the first Paralympic Games under the management of IPC. Today, we look back on a history of the organization, which is rapidly developing and presently numbers around 160 member nations. The Movement's growth is best exemplified through the phenomenal rise of the Paralympic Games. More nations competed at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics (3824 athletes, 123 nations) than in the Munich 1972 Olympic Games. In Sydney, the degree of media coverage and attention from the public was unprecedented. With interest in and acceptance for sport for persons with a disability growing, the expansion of the Paralympics is most likely to continue in the future.
The word "Paralympic" derives from the Greek preposition "para" ("beside" or "alongside") and the word "Olympics" (the Paralympics being the parallel Games to the Olympics). The word Paralympic was originally a pun combining 'paraplegic' and 'Olympic', however with the inclusion of other disability groups and the close associations with the Olympic Movement, it now represents 'parallel' and 'Olympic' to illustrate how the two movements exist side by side.
The IPC is currently composed of a General Assembly (its highest decision-making body, made up of the National Paralympic Committees, the five IOSDs and the sports), an Executive Committee, a Management Committee, Headquarters in Bonn and various Standing Committees and Commissions. From 1989 (when the IPC was founded) to 2001, Dr. Robert D. Steadward held the office of IPC-President. In December 2001, after the maximum of three terms in office, he was succeeded by the former Paralympian and President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Sir Philip Craven, MBE .
In 2005, the Executive Committee was replaced by a Governing Board whose members were directly elected by the IPC General Assembly. There are four advisory Councils in addition to several Standing Committees and Commissions. They are governed under a new IPC Constitution and a new electoral system. This will lead the 13 IPC sports towards more self-sustainability and eventually independence from the IPC. In addition to the NPCs and IOSDs, the sports and regional bodies will also become full members of the IPC.
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To learn more about The International Paralympic Committee, please
visit their
Official Web-Site.
To learn more about US Paralympics, our National Paralympic Committee in the USA, please
visit their
Official Web-Site.
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Last Updated On:
Thursday, March 30, 2006 |
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