Formation 22 September 1989 President Philip Craven CEO Xavier Gonzalez (2004–) Motto Spirit in Motion | Website www.paralympic.org Founded 22 September 1989 | |
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Similar Japanischer Garten, Bonn Egyptian Museum, Akademisches Kunstmuseum, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Deutsches Museum Bonn Profiles | ||
History of international paralympic committee 1989 2014
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports. Founded on 22 September 1989 in Düsseldorf, Germany, its mission is "To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world". Furthermore, the IPC wants to promote the Paralympic values and to create sport opportunities for all persons with a disability, from beginner to elite level.
Contents
- History of international paralympic committee 1989 2014
- International paralympic committee athletes council
- Presidents
- Governing Board
- IPC Honorary Board
- History
- Publications
- ParalympicSportTV
- Paralympic Hall of Fame
- The Organizing Committees
- National Paralympic Committees NPCs
- International Paralympic Sports Federations IFs
- References
The IPC has a democratic constitution and structure and is composed of representatives from 176 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), four international organizations of sport for the disabled (IOSDs) and five regional organizations. The IPC's headquarters is located in Bonn, Germany.
On the basis of being able to organize the Paralympic Games more efficiently and to give the Paralympic Movement one voice, the four international organizations combined under the IOSD founded the International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports Organizations for the Disabled (ICC) in 1982. In the upcoming years, other organizations joined and the need for a democratically guided organization emerged, demanded by the nations participating in the Paralympic Movement. They desired a democratic structure, to improve national and regional representation, which led to the foundation of the IPC as we know it today. The 1994 Winter Paralympics, Norway, were the first to be organized by the IPC.
The IPC functions as an umbrella organization, representing several sports and disabilities, in contrast to other international sports organizations for athletes with a disability, which are predominantly limited to a single sport or disability.
The word "Paralympic" derives from the Greek preposition "para" ("beside" or "alongside"). and "Olympics". The first connotation connected to the syllable "para" was paralysis or paraplegia. But since the Paralympics cover different disability groups and the close association to the Olympic Movement, "para" underlines the existence of both movements side by side.
A fifteen-member Governing Board oversees the IPC between meetings of the General Assembly. Dr. Robert D. Steadward became the first President in 1989. Since 2001, Sir Philip Craven is President of the IPC, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The number of athletes and nations participating in the Paralympic Games and thus being part of the Paralympic Movement is constantly increasing, along with the audience. Sport for persons with a disability is growing on a national and international level.
International paralympic committee athletes council
Presidents
The International Paralympic Committee has had two presidents to date. Its founding president, who presided it from 1989 to 2001, was the Canadian Robert Steadward, who had previously founded the Canadian Sports Fund for the Physically Disabled. He was succeeded in 2001 by Philip Craven, a British former Paralympic athlete, who remains president as of 2016.
Governing Board
The IPC Governing Board consists of 14 members elected at the General Assembly, including the President and Vice President. 12 members were elected on 24 November 2013 to four year teams:
The Athletes' Representative, which has voting rights on the board, is ice sledge hockey player from Canada Todd Nicholson. Two members of the board without voting rights are the co-opted member Bernard Bourigeaud (NPC France), and the CEO Xavier Gonzalez (Spain).
IPC Honorary Board
The IPC has an honorary board of distinguished individuals who support the IPC's goals and use their profile to raise funds and awareness for its work.
Current honorary board members are:
History
Chronology of milestones in the development of the International Paralympic Committee and the Summer and Winter Paralympics.
Publications
The IPC publishes The Paralympian three times a year.
ParalympicSport.TV
The London 2012 Paralympics and other sport events related to the Paralympic Movement can be watched on the Internet TV channel for Paralympic Sports created by the IPC.
Paralympic Hall of Fame
The Organizing Committees
In June 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that the staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games. The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
However, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee (SLOC), chose to follow the practice of "one bid, one city" already at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, with one Organizing Committee for both Games, which was followed up by the 2004 Games in Athens and Torino in 2006.
The agreement was adjusted in 2003. An extension was signed in June 2006. A further extension was signed in 2012, valid until 2020.
National Paralympic Committees (NPCs)
The NPCs receive financial support for the training and development of Paralympic teams, Paralympic athletes and Paralympic hopefuls.
International Paralympic Sports Federations (IFs)
There are 11 international federations recognized by the IPC, and there are four disability specific organizations, while the IPC itself serves as the international federation for 10 sports.
On 30 November 2016, the IPC officially adopted the "World Para" brand for all sports in which it is the international federation. Sports contested in the Summer Paralympics began using the new branding immediately. For winter sports, whose competitive seasons had already started by the announcement, only the world championships were immediately changed to reflect the new branding; the full switchover will not occur until the 2017–18 season.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships and other competitions
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Athletics Championships and other competitions
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Dance Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed from "wheelchair dance sport" to "Para dance sport" due to the IPC's desire to expand the sport beyond wheelchair users.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Ice Hockey Championships and other competitions. With the November 2016 rebranding, the official name of the sport was changed from "sledge hockey" to "Para ice hockey". This change was made upon the request of the sport's community, partly due to the word "sledge" having different meanings across languages.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships and other competitions.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Powerlifting Championships and other competitions
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Shooting Para Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed as "shooting Para sport" to avoid possible confusion with parachuting.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Snowboard Championships and other competitions.
Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Swimming Championships and other competitions
Note that the Paralympic versions of some sports have different governing structures than the able-bodied versions of the same sports: