Paralympic Games
In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition involving World War II veterans with a spinal cord injury in Stoke Mandeville, England. Four years later, competitors from the Netherlands joined the games and an international movement was born. Olympic style games for athletes with a disability were organised for the first time in Rome in 1960, now called the Paralympics. In Toronto in 1976, other disability groups were added and the idea of merging together different disability groups for international sport competitions was born. In the same year, the first Paralympic Winter Games took place in Sweden.
Today, the Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes with a disability. They emphasise, however, the participants' athletic achievements rather than their disability. The movement has grown dramatically since its first days. The number of athletes participating in Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 3,951 athletes from 146 countries in Beijing in 2008.
The Paralympic Games have always been held in the same year as the Olympic Games. Since the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games and the Albertville 1992 Winter Paralympic Games they have also taken place at the same venues as the Olympics. On 19 June 2001, an agreement was signed between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) securing this practice for the future. From the 2012 bid process onwards, the host city chosen to host the Olympic Games will be obliged to also host the Paralympics.
London will host the Paralympics in 2012 and Sochi will be the host of the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
IOSD Sports
An IOSD Sport is a sport for athletes with a disability on the Paralympic Programme governed by an International Organization of Sport for the Disabled (IOSD). The IPC currently recognizes six IOSD sports on the Paralympic Programme.
Governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA)
Governed by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA)
Governed by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)
IPC Sports
The IPC serves as the International Federation for nine (9) sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions.
The following sports are goverened by the IPC:
- Alpine Skiing
- Athletics
- Biathlon
- Cross-Country Skiing
- Ice Sledge Hockey
- Powerlifting
- Shooting
- Swimming
- Wheelchair Dance Sport
IF Sports
Eleven sports on the Paralympic Programme are governed by International Federations.
To learn more about the different sports, please take a look at the following links:
- Archery (International Archery Federation)
- Cycling (International Cycling Federation)
- Equestrian (International Equestrian Federation)
- Rowing (International Rowing Federation)
- Sailing (International Association for Disabled Sailing)
- Table Tennis (International Table Tennis Federation)
- Volleyball (Sitting) (World Organization for Volleyball for Disabled)
- Wheelchair Basketball (International Wheelchair Basketball Federation)
- Wheelchair Curling (World Curling Federation)
- Wheelchair Rugby (International Wheelchair Rugby Federation)
- Wheelchair Tennis (International Tennis Federation)
Paralympic Games
To find out more about the Paralympic Games please go to www.paralympic.org
To found out more about the Australian Paralympic Committee please go to www.paralympic.org.au
Information adapted from www.paralympic.org