Snowboard taking off RECAP: Five winter sport World Championships REVIEW: Deciding the Tokyo 2020 Sports Programme.

Transcription

1 THE PARALYMPIAN OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT ISSUE NO Snowboard taking off RECAP: Fiv wintr sport World Championships REVIEW: Dciding th Tokyo 2020 Sports Programm

2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE THE PARALYMPIAN Th final dcision on which sports wr includd in 2020 was not takn lightly and followd an xtnsiv procss that startd in Octobr Wlcom to th first dition of Th Paralympian in 2015, a yar that has alrady sn so much happn within th Paralympic Movmnt. This issu faturs on th climax of a major longtrm projct which will hav an impact on th futur growth of th Paralympic Gams. In January th IPC Govrning Board dcidd that th Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Gams will fatur 22 sports. Whilst I would lik to pass on my warm congratulations to all th succssful sports, I want to giv a spcial mntion to badminton and takwondo who wr includd for th first tim. Both sports submittd strong bids for inclusion, displaying a ral dsir to b part of th Paralympic programm and I look forward to watching both as a spctator in th Japans capital in I must strss th final dcision on which sports wr includd in 2020 was not takn lightly and followd an xtnsiv procss that startd in Octobr As with any dcision of this magnitud thr was always going to b som disappointmnt 24 sports do not fit into a maximum of 23 placs but what I would lik to say is that I hav 100 pr cnt confidnc in th procdurs that wr followd and how th Board rachd our final dmocratic dcision. By th tim of Tokyo 2020, th IPC will hav alrady implmntd its Stratgic Plan which will b launchd latr this yar. Th nw plan builds on th prvious four-yar planning cycl and is a public outlin of th IPC s stratgic dirction. Much of what was discussd at last Octobr s Mmbrship Gathring is includd in th plan in som form or othr and I hop th documnt whn publishd provs bnficial to th IPC and th widr Paralympic Movmnt. As with all ditions of Th Paralympian, this issu rviws th main sporting vnts that hav takn plac in th first part of 2015 and looks ahad to an xtrmly busy summr of sport, th highlight of which will b th Toronto 2015 Parapan Amrican Gams. August s vnt marks th start of a vitally important priod for th Paralympic Movmnt in th Amricas and I am dlightd that Amricas Paralympic Committ Prsidnt Jos Luis Campo and IPC Vic Prsidnt Andrw Parsons shar thir viws on what can b achivd in th Issu of th Sason fatur. Happy rading. Sir Philip Cravn, MBE IPC Prsidnt

3 4 THE PARALYMPIAN CONTENTS CONTENTS THE PARALYMPIAN PARALYMPIC NEWS 10 #ASKANATHLETE 11 DIGITAL BONUS Awards, confrncs, sponsorships, improvmnts and rtirmnts all fatur in th latst nws from around th Paralympic Movmnt. Brazil s Andr Brasil and Canada s Bnoît Huot talk about thir rivalry ahad of th IPC Swimming World Championships. How did th Paralympic Movmnt as a whol prform onlin in 2014? 12 TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION 18 WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP 24 FUTURE GAMES Find out how th IPC dcidd on th final 22 sports for th Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Gams. A rviw of all th major sporting vnts, including World Championships in fiv win tr sports. Rio start intrviwing voluntrs, Pyong- Chang stag National Paralympic Day and Tokyo 2020 announc multipl sponsors. 26 UPCOMING EVENTS 30 ISSUE OF THE SEASON 32 GUEST COLUMN Look ahad to this summr s major sporting vnts including August s Toronto Parapan Amrican Gams in Canada. How can th Paralympic Movmnt in th Amricas capitalis fully on th Toronto 2015 Parapan Amrican Gams and Rio 2016 Paralympics? Ioannis Daras, Prsidnt of th Europan Union of Sports Prss givs his viw on how th Paralympic Movmnt can scur gratr global mdia covrag. THE PARALYMPIAN CONTACT IMAGES PRINT Print compnsatd Id-No Th viws xprssd in Th Paralympian ar not ncssarily thos of th IPC. In cas of rpublication of any part of Th Paralympian, plas snd a copy to th IPC. Th publishr rsrvs th right to dit submittd articls. Th Intrnational Paralympic Committ ndavours to b as currnt and accurat as possibl with this publication, aiming to trat all radrs with courtsy and rspct. W can not guarant howvr that th information containd in this publication is complt and accurat in all rspcts and radrs ar takn to undrstand and agr to this disclaimr upon rading any part of Th Paralympian. No infringmnts upon any law, including sport rgulations, from popl within th photographs and/or faturd in th magazin s contnt wr known at th tim of publication. Articls, picturs and othr writtn or graphic dvics publishd in Th Paralympian may not b rproducd without th prior writtn prmission of th Intrnational Paralympic Committ. Editor Craig Spnc Assistant Editor Eva Wrthmann Graphic Dsign dsignf Bianca Wrninghaus Printing wlzl + hardt GmbH All rights rsrvd 2015 Intrnational Paralympic Committ ISSN Intrnational Paralympic Committ Adnaurall D Bonn, Grmany Tl Fax info@paralympic.org Photo Crdits: Luc Prcival (p. 1/6/34), Para Sports Photo (p. 4/13), Gtty Imags (p. 5/8/9/10/11/19/26/27/28/29), Tokyo 2020 (p. 5/25), Jams Jordan (p. 6), Livn Coudnys (p. 7/8/28/32), NPC Turky (p. 7), CPC (p. 8), Jorn Woltr (p. 9), fotolia (p. 9/12/13/24/25), Staffordshir Sntinl Nws & Mdia (p. 13), Svn His (p. 14), World Takwondo Fdration (p. 14/15/16), Alan Spink (p. 17), Jams Ntz photography (p. 18), Marcus Hartmann (p. 19), WCF/Alina Paulyuchik (p. 20), Oriol Molas (p. 21), Alpin Pak Photography (p. 22), Nathan W Ldiard/Ldiard Foto AS (p. 22), Karl Nilsson (p. 23), Jan Baptist Bnavnt (p. 23/29), Rio 2016/Alxandr Louriro (p. 24), POCOG (p. 25), Vincnt Ethir (p. 29), istockphoto (p. 30/31), Gorg Santamouris (p. 30/31)

4 6 THE PARALYMPIAN PARALYMPIC NEWS PARALYMPIC NEWS THE PARALYMPIAN Allianz and NEC announc sponsorship xtnsions + + NEWS IN-BRIEF + + Allianz has announcd an xtnsion of its IPC Athltics sponsorship through to th nd of 2016, whilst NEC has confirmd it will rmain as titl sponsor of th NEC Whlchair Tnnis Mastrs and as official partnr of th UNIQLO Whlchair Tnnis Tour through to As part of its continud support of paraathltics, Allianz will b an official partnr of Octobr s World Championships in Doha, Qatar, nxt yar s Europan Championships in Grossto, Italy, and will support at last thr Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016 in Brisban, Australia; Nottwil, Switzrland; and Brlin, Grmany. NEC has bn a sponsor of th ITF Whlchair Tnnis Tour sinc its incption in 1992, and rcntly clbratd 22 yars as titl sponsor of th NEC Whlchair Tnnis Mastrs, th yar-nd whlchair championship which until 2016 will b hld at L Vally Hocky and Tnnis Cntr in London s Qun Elizabth Olympic Park, Grat Britain. Th ITF Whlchair Tnnis Tour now has ovr 160 tournamnts in mor than 40 countris offring USD 2 million in priz mony. IRAN: NPC Iran showcasd its rcnt achivmnts to Iranian politicians during a wk-long xhibition at th Parliamnt Had quartrs in Thran. IRELAND: Paralympics Irland has appointd th Prsidnt of Cycling Irland Dnis Toomy as its Chf d Mission for th Rio 2016 Paralympics. Classification improvmnts Th IPC has adoptd a zro classification policy in an ffort to minimis th numbr of athlts who nd to b classifid in th final days lading up to or during a Paralympic Gams. By working with ach Intrnational Fdration to invst in and implmnt a comprhnsiv pr-gams classification programm sprad ovr th ntir qualification priod, th IPC hops to mt its objctiv by th Rio 2016 Paralympic Gams. On 4 Fbruary, th IPC also rlasd th scond draft of th rvisd Classification Turkish NPC/NOC Th Turkish Olympic and Paralympic committs hav signd a historic agrmnt aimd at sharing knowldg and bst practic with a viw to providing nw imptus to Turkish sport on th intrnational stag. Th objctiv of th agrmnt, which was signd by NOC Prsidnt Profssor Th rvisd Classification Cod will b publishd in 2017 Cod marking th launch of th third and final round of consultation. Th rvisd Cod, du for publication in 2017, was dvlopd from two priods of consultation during 2013 and 2014 which gathrd rsponss from around th Paralympic Movmnt on th xisting vrsion of th Cod. Th dadlin for fdback was 10 April and th IPC Classification Committ will now furthr rfin th draft 2017 Cod bfor th final vrsion is prsntd to th IPC Govrning Board in Jun Dr. Ugur Erdnr and NPC Prsidnt Yavuz Kocaomr, is to opn nw mans of communication and co-opration btwn th two organisations. Prsidnt Profssor Dr. Ugur Erdnr said I considr it vry important for Turkish sports that with this collaboration w shall walk with TNPC hand-in-hand towards assimilation and promotion of Olympic valus. Both committs hav agrd in mutual goodwill, confidnc and srving sports. Hncforward, w shall jointly b involvd in and contribut to th organisation of major intrnational sporting vnts in T urky and togthr toil for sporting achivmnts sharing our knowldg and xprincs. FEI: Blgian Ingmar D Vos has succdd HRH Princss Haya as Prsidnt of th FEI. D Vos had bn FEI Scrtary Gnral sinc May 2011 and was lctd in th first round of voting, arning 98 vots out of a possibl 131. WCF: Th World Curling Fdration has announcd that Lucrn, Switzrland, and Stirling, Grat Britain, will stag th 2016 and 2019 World Whlchair Curling Championships. BRAZIL: NPC Brazil clbratd its 20th annivrsary in January by launching a commmorativ logo and xtnding a spcial thanks to all thos who hav hlpd build th organisation ovr th last 20 yars. GERMANY: NPC Grmany has namd 46 athlts who will b part of thir Top Tam to Rio 2016 and PyongChang Th mdal hopfuls will rciv support thanks to funding from Allianz and Dutsch Tlkom which will nabl thm to bttr focus on thir training. GREAT BRITAIN: National Paralympic Day will tak plac in London s Qun Elizabth Olympic Park on Sunday 26 July and will fatur swimming and athltics. SOCHI 2014: In its annual Top 50 Momnts poll, th IPC announcd th Sochi 2014 Paralympic Wintr Gams as its numbr on momnt of ITTF: Spain s Alvaro Valra and Croatia s Sandra Paovic wr namd th rspctiv mal and fmal award winnrs for para-tabl tnnis at January s ITTF Star Awards in Dubai, UAE.

5 8 THE PARALYMPIAN PARALYMPIC NEWS PARALYMPIC NEWS THE PARALYMPIAN NEWS IN-BRIEF + + WORLD PARA VOLLEY: World Para- Volly hav launchd a nw wbsit which faturs nws, faturs, calndar of upcoming vnts and world rankings, plus all important documnts rgarding gtting startd in th sport, classification and anti-doping. EPC: NPC Portugal hav bn awardd th hosting of th 2015 EPC Gnral Assmbly and Confrnc to b hld in Lisbon, Portugal, 2-3 Octobr AUSTRALIA: Th Svn Ntwork, Australia s most-watchd broadcast tlvision platform, will crat and dlivr th most comprhnsiv, tchnologically advancd, multi-platform covrag of th Paralympic Gams in Rio to all Australians on any communications dvic. Svn will dlivr 14 hours a day of liv covrag on broadcast tlvision across th ntwork s digital broadcast platform. IWRF: In March, th IWRF launchd its third stratgic plan which will dirct th futur growth of whlchair rugby though to Th plan was draftd following IWRF Educational and Planning mtings hld in London, Grat Britain, in Fbruary. AGITOS AWARD: Th Agitos Foundation won th Bst Disability Sports Contributor at January s Ghana Sports Excllnc Awards. GEORGIA: Powrliftr Iago Gorgodz has bn suspndd for four yars and find EUR 1,500 for an Anti-Doping Rul Violation. IBSA: Finland s Kari Räsänn has bn namd Chair of IBSA Goalball succding Swdn s Kari Marklund who rtird last yar. TENNIS: Formr whlchair tnnis playr David Hall was inductd into th Australian Tnnis Hall of Fam during January s Australian Opn in Mlbourn. Laurus Sport Awards Sarah Story Yuk Wing Lung Th winnr of th Laurus Sportsprson of th Yar with a Disability Award will b announcd on 15 April 2015 at a glittring awards crmony in Shanghai, China, from a shortlist of six athlts. Russia s Roman Ptushkov and Grmany s Anna Schafflhubr, two athlts who won 11 gold mdals btwn thm at th Sochi 2014 Paralympic Wintr Gams, ar amongst th nomins. Womn s Day Award winnr Canada s Chantal Ptitclrc has bn awardd th IPC s Intrnational Womn s Day Rcognition Award for Th 45-yar-old, who won 21 Paralympic mdals, including 14 gold, during a glittring carr spanning fiv Paralympic Gams, has continud to rais th visibility of parasport sinc rtiring from th track. Roman Ptushkov Tatyana McFaddn Joining thm for th award, which rcogniss sporting achivmnts during 2014, ar th USA s track and fild and crosscountry skiing star Tatyana McFaddn, Grat Britain s multi-mdal winning paracyclist Sarah Story, Hong Kong s boccia world champion Yuk Wing Lung and Canada s para-cycling world champion Shlly Gauthir. Anna Schafflhubr Shlly Gauthir Sh was Chf d Mission of Tam Canada at th Glasgow 2014 Commonwalth Gams and will assum th sam position for th Rio 2016 Paralympics. A highly sought public spakr, Ptitclrc was also namd to th Most Influntial Womn list by th Canadian Association for th Advancmnt of Womn in Sport and Physical Activity. PREVIOUS WINNERS 2013 Sylvana Mstr (ESP) 2014 Rima Batalova (RUS) Spakrs announcd for VISTA 2015 Th first spakrs hav bn announcd for VISTA 2015 which will tak plac in Girona, Spain from 7-10 Octobr. Th thm for this yar s confrnc is scuring th futur of young para-athlts and hundrds of xprts and sports spcialists from around th world ar xpctd to attnd. Ciro Wincklr of Sao Paulo Fdral Univrsity and Raymond So of th Hong Kong Sports Institut will covr th topic of athlt halth and prformanc during thir invitd symposium. Danil Thisn, of th Sports Mdicin Rsarch Laboratory, Luxmbourg Institut of Halth; Osnat Fliss-Dour of th Zinman Collg of Physical Education and Sport Scincs at th Wingat Cowdry rtirs Australia s most succssful Para lympian, swimmr Matthw Cowdry announcd his rtirmnt from th sport in Fbruary. Having mad his Paralympic dbut at th Athns 2004 Gams, Cowdry wnt on to win 23 mdals including 13 golds, mor than any othr swimmr in th history of th Gams. I hav bn fortunat to hav achivd mor than I could vr hav dramd of, and mor than I st out to achiv, and mor importantly I hav njoyd vry minut of my tim on th Australian swim tam, said Cowdry who also won 16 world titls during a glittring carr. Out of th pool, h won an array of major awards including an Ordr of Australia Mdal (2005), Australian Paralympian of th Yar (2008), Young South Australian of th Yar (2009) and Swimming Australia s Swimmr of th Yar with a disability on multipl occasions. SILVER 16 GOLD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALS 3 2 BRONZE Institut in Ntanya, Isral; and Argntin para-athlt Danila Luchina, will dlivr a symposium on Athlts and Coachs Education - Stratgis and Tools to Improv Athltic Prformanc. Th subjct of concptual applications of vidnc-basd classification will b prsntd by Viola Altmann of th Sint Maartnsklinik rhabilitation cntr in Nijmgn, th Nthrlands, and Dbbi Van Bisn of Luvn Univrsity, Blgium. Until 15 Jun, attnds can tak advantag of a spcial arly-bird offr with rgistration fs discountd to EUR SILVER 7 13 GOLD PARALYMPIC MEDALS 3 BRONZE

6 10 THE PARALYMPIAN ASK AN ATHLETE DIGITAL BONUS THE PARALYMPIAN #AskAnAthlt 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships Dats: July Location: Glasgow, Grat Britain Ahad of July s IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Grat Britain, Canada s Bnoît Huot and Brazil s Andr Brasil, talk about thir rivalry in th S10 class. Andr Glasgow will b th first stp n-rout to my biggst goal, th Rio 2016 Paralympic Gams. It is going to b th first tim I will b focusing just on short-distanc racs. I intnd to b in all ths racs and I will fight to win four gold mdals. Asid from my parnts, Ayrton Snna, Alxandr Popov and Clodoaldo Silva. Snna is a hro for Brazilians, Popov was a gnius of swimming and Silva was th on who promotd th sport for popl with disabilitis and showd Brazilians th adaptd sport. First of all, th birth of my son, Lonardo, who is two-yars-old, and my family. Watching him growing up is prhaps my biggst accomplishmnt. I don t hid that I fl buttrflis in my stomach bfor vry singl rac. It happns to vrybody and I m not an xcption. Gtting prpard day in and day out is th scrt, though. Whn you ar training, you can simulat th situations that can happn during comptitions. What ar your ambitions for Glasgow 2015? Who ar your thr hros? What s your gratst achivmnt to dat? How do you cop with nrvs bfor a major vnt? Bnoît I would lik to compt in thr vnts and try to gt as clos as I can or go undr my prsonal bst tims. My main objctiv is rally to njoy vry momnt and hav fun doing it. If I manag to do that, I will swim fast. A happy swimmr is a fast swimmr. Philipp Gagnon is th rason why I am doing this today. H inspird m and I wantd to bcom a para-athlt lik him on day. Rogr Fdrr, I nvr had th privilg to mt him but h sms lik a gntlman. Finally, Nlson Mandla, a tru inspiration. Thr ar a lot of things that mak m happy about th last 15 yars but I bliv what maks m th most proud is how I was capabl of coming back at London 2012 aftr a disappointing Paralympics in Bijing Th way I managd and approachd th four yars btwn Bijing and London is by far what maks m th proudst. I ovrcam th advrsity and this mad m a bttr individual and athlt. I rally try to com back to th basics of why I lov my sport. W ar vry lucky to b abl to practic our passion vry day and this should b fun. It s not always asy but my objctiv is to always try and put this back in to prspctiv and njoy vry day of th procss. Onlin growth in 2014 During 2014, th whol Paralympic Movmnt njoyd phnomnal onlin growth, hr ar a fw facts for you to digst. Top 5 athlts on Facbook 1. Frnando Frnands (BRA) Cano 2. Amy Purdy (USA) Snowboard 3. Alx Zanardi (ITA) Cycling 4. Elli Simmonds (GBR) Swimming 5. Natalia Partyka (POL) Tabl tnnis Wbsit pag viws on Wbsit visitors to Top 5 athlts on Twittr / Alx Zanardi (ITA) Cycling / Amy Purdy (USA) Snowboard / Jonni Pacock (GBR) Athltics / Richard Whithad (GBR) Athltics / Kurt Farnly (AUS) Athltics 1. amypurdygirl / Amy Purdy (USA) Snowboard 2. danildias88 / Danil Dias (BRA) Swimming 3. kllycartwright / Klly Cartwright (AUS) Athltics 4. Alanathjan / Alana Nichols (USA) Alpin skiing 5. TatyanaMcFaddnUSA / Tatyana McFaddn (USA) Athltics and Nordic skiing 6,603,253 2,807,220 2,061,838 Top 5 athlts on Instagram 85,115 82,425 75,135 30,988 62,538 50,017 4,699 4,588 2,292 1,884 8,662,655 23,242 38, , , , ,809 Facbook* liks 55, ,500 93,800 Twittr* followrs *Across all IPC channls FAST FACTS IPC s onlin activitis rachd 270 million popl in 2014 Visitors spnt 7.7 million minuts onlin at during th yar 8.8 million viws on th IPC s YouTub Channl

7 12 THE PARALYMPIAN TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION THE PARALYMPIAN Following th phnomnal succss of London 2012 a varity of stakholdrs from insid and outsid th Paralympic Movmnt contributd to th Paralympic Gams Stratgic Rviw. Thy may still b mor than fiv yars away, but in January th final sports programm for th Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Gams was dcidd. Th announcmnt that thy will fatur 22 sports brought to an nd th IPC s most xtnsiv rviw of th Paralympic programm, a procss that startd in Octobr Th final dcision brought joy for th supportrs of badminton and takwondo which wr includd in th Gams for th first tim, whilst thr was disappointmnt from football 7-a-sid and sailing, th two sports that wr not includd in th final programm. Starting with a blank canvas For th first tim vr in th history of th Gams, th IPC dcidd to start with a blank canvas for Tokyo 2020, which mant that all ligibl sports had to apply and fully justify thir plac on th Paralympic programm. According to IPC Chif Excutiv Officr Xavir Gonzalz, th catalyst for such a mov was th Paralympic Gams Stratgic Rviw. Following th phnomnal succss of London 2012 a varity of stakholdrs from insid and outsid th Paralympic Movmnt contributd to th Paralympic Gams Stratgic Rviw, h xplaind. On of its main findings was that for th Paralympic Gams to continu to grow in siz and scal, it was vital that th sport programm rmaind frsh and faturd th bst possibl sports. W thrfor dcidd to initiat a procss whrby ach sport had to apply for inclusion in th Gams knowing that thy would b judgd on facts and figurs and not purly rputation alon. Amy Trusdal al pictur court urtsy of St affordsh ir Sntinl Nws & Mdi a, Stok-On- Trnt, Engla nd.

8 14 THE PARALYMPIAN TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION THE PARALYMPIAN How sports wr judgd To dtrmin which sports would b includd, th IPC updatd th minimum critria for how sports would b assssd. Th cor rquirmnts (along with a broadr rviw of ach sport s situation) wr: Complianc with and implmntation of th World Anti-Doping Cod Complianc with and implmntation of th IPC Classification Cod A rgular quadrnnial comptition programm, including a minimum of two world championships hostd within th last ight yars Worldwid rach of at last 24 countris practising a tam sport widly and rgularly; OR: Worldwid rach of at last 32 countris practising an individual sport widly and rgularly. A country shall b considrd as widly and rgularly practising a sport or disciplin if: It has bn holding rcognisd / sanctiond national Championships within th last four yars; OR: It has bn compting with a national dlgation in intrnationally rcognisd/sanctiond comptitions on a rgular basis within th last four yars. Th application had to includ proof in th form of official rsults lists that th widly and rgularly practisd critria was fulfilld. Following submissions from th 24 ligibl Intrnational Fdrations (IFs), th IPC managmnt tam spnt two months rviwing all applications bfor rports W r wll awar that th non-inclusion of both sports has causd som disappointmnt, spcially among athlts, but th fact is nithr mt th worldwid participation critria for inclusion. wr providd to th IPC Govrning Board to mak th dcision. Xavir Gonzalz said: Th rviw procss was xtrmly xtnsiv and th data supplid by ach IF scrutinisd in grat dtail. It ndd to b too, as w found that som IFs could not provid us with th ncssary crdibl data to back-up and justify thir claims. This was disappointing. Othr IFs usd th procss as an opportunity to spnd tim collating in-dpth information, putting nw systms in plac and making ncssary improvmnts. This will bnfit thm gratly in th futur. Th IPC Govrning Board rachd its dcision in two stags. In Octobr 2014 thy approvd 16 sports, whilst th rmaining ight sports wr informd that thy wr in dangr of missing out if thy did not improv thir bids. All ight wr givn writtn fdback and furthr tim to improv thir application. In January 2015 at its mting in Abu Dhabi, th IPC Govrning Board rviwd ach of th ight sports on final tim bfor dciding that six of thm should b includd in th Gams. THE 16 MONTH PROCESS Octobr 2013 Th IPC invits rcognisd non- Paralympic Intrnational Fdrations (IFs) and xisting Paralympic IFs to suggst sports and disciplins for inclusion in Tokyo All currnt Paralympics IFs informd of th minimum critria and conditions for inclusion in th Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Gams as outlind in th IPC Handbook Chaptr 3. March 2014 Jun 2014 July August 2014 Sptmbr 2014 Octobr 2014 January 2015 Aftr six sports and thr disciplins rply to Octobr s invitation, th IPC Govrning Board dcids badminton and takwondo can apply for inclusion in Tokyo 2020, togthr with th xisting 22 sports. Th IPC distributs application packags to all 24 ligibl IFs. Th IPC hosts rprsntativs from most of th 24 sports at its hadquartrs in Bonn to furthr guid thm in th application procss. Th IPC managmnt tam conducts an xtnsiv rviw of all rcivd applications, judging thm against th critria outlind in th IPC Handbook Chaptr 3. Th IPC mts ight sports whos applications rval shortcomings for fac-to-fac mtings during th IPC Sports Council. Th ight sports ar informd of whr thy nd to improv thir bids and ar askd to rwork thir submissions. Thy ar also invitd to prsonally prsnt thir cas to th IPC Govrning Board. Th IPC Govrning Board approvs th first 16 sports for inclusion and mts with th rmaining ight sports in jopardy of not bing includd in th Gams. Th IPC provids ach sport with dtaild fdback and instructions on how to improv thir submission. Six of th rmaining ight sports ar approvd for inclusion in th Gams by th IPC Govrning Board.

9 16 THE PARALYMPIAN TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION TOKYO 2020 SPORTS DECISION THE PARALYMPIAN Nw sports and th futur Th IPC Govrning Board s dcision mans that both badminton and takwondo, who prsntd imprssiv bids, will mak thir Paralympic dbuts in Th rviw procss was xtrmly xtnsiv and th data supplid by ach IF scrutinisd in grat dtail. I m dlightd for all sports that hav bn includd in Tokyo 2020, in particular th two nw sports, said Gonzalz. Both showd grat nthusiasm for inclusion in th Gams and both dlivrd strong bids that mt th critria. I think th inclusion of both undrlins that th IPC Govrning Board is willing to rward good govrnanc with a plac in th Gams. Gonzalz also offrd consolation for both football 7 and sailing that wr not includd in th Gams. For ths sports, amongst othr issus w idntifid, th main rason for thir non-inclusion was that both could not provid us with data that supportd th rquird global participation lvls. Football 7 could only support 15 countris widly and rgularly participating in th last four yars, and sailing could only justify 27 countris, significantly blow th 24 and 32 rquird for tam sports and individual sports rspctivly. W r wll awar that thir non-inclusion has causd disappointmnt, spcially among th athlts, but th fact is nithr mt th worldwid participation critria for inclusion. To includ ithr on or both in Tokyo 2020 aftr a 15 month procss would hav totally dfatd th objctiv of th xrcis. I would urg both football 7 and sailing to tak ncouragmnt from badminton and takwondo. Both hav shown that with a strong global dvlopmnt plan it is possibl to incras global participation to th minimum lvl with no involvmnt in th Gams. Sinc January s dcision th IPC has providd dtaild rports to ach IF offring fdback on aras thy can improv on for nxt tim, as according to th IPC CEO th procss will crtainly b rpatd for th nxt Gams. This procss kps sports on thir tos and nsurs thy ar constantly striving for improvmnt. W will rpat this initiativ in 2018 rady for th 2024 Gams. TAEKWONDO BADMINTON COUNTRIES 36 COUNTRIES 39 REGIONS 5 REGIONS 4 THE SPORT Athlts compt in th Kyorugi disciplin (sparring) THE SPORT Playrs compt in singls (mn / womn), doubls (mn/womn) and mixd doubls. CLASSIFICATION FOUR SPORT CLASSES FOR UPPER LIMB IMPAIRMENT: K41, K42, K43, K44 CLASSIFICATION SIX SPORT CLASSES: Whlchair sport classs: WH1 and WH2 Standing sport classs: SL3, SL4 and SU5 Short statur sport class: SS6

10 18 THE PARALYMPIAN WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP THE PARALYMPIAN Ukrain s Olksandra Kononova lft Cabl 2015 as th most dcoratd athlt Canada s Mac Marcoux and guid brothr BJ won th ovrall mn s visually impaird Glob aftr making into th World Cup podium ight tims IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships 23 January - 1 Fbruary IPC Alpin Skiing World Cup 8 January - 5 Fbruary Ukrain s Olksandra Kononova was th star of th show at th 2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships in Cabl, USA, picking up six individual gold mdals in th womn s standing class. Th 24-yar-old, who won just on Paralympic titl at Sochi 2014, also pickd up a silvr in th tam rlay vnt to lav Cabl as th most dcoratd athlt. On hom snow, Andrw Soul mad history by winning th most vr mdals for a US para-nordic skir at a World Championships. His thr silvr and two bronz mdals won him th Allianz Athlt of th Month award for January. Grmany s Andra Eskau compltd a swp of th womn s cross-country sitting vnts as did Russia s Nikolay Polukhin and guid Andry Tokarv in mn s biathlon visually impaird. Th vnt provd a hug succss; not only did it attract 120 athlts from 15 countris, but onlin drw narly four tims as many visitors as th wbsit for th 2013 World Championships. Country Gold Silvr Bronz Total Russia Ukrain Grmany Anna Schafflhubr scurd hr fifth succssiv ovrall World Cup titl in womn s sit ski following an imprssiv 2014/2015 sason. At 22 yars old th Grman was on of th oldst ovrall winnrs, with Franc s Mari Bocht (21), Canada s Mac Marcoux (17) and Russia s Alxy Bugav (17) also scuring titls, undrlining th sport s mrging pool of young talnt. Th USA s Danll Umstad and Japan s Takshi Suzuki wr th othr winnrs. Australian Opn January OVERALL FINAL RANKINGS Womn s Visually impaird: Danll Umstad (USA) Standing: Mari Bocht (FRA) Sitting: Anna Schafflhubr (GER) Aftr mor than a dcad trying, th Nthrlands Jisk Griffion won hr first Grand Slam singls titl with victory ovr Japan s world No.1 Yui Kamiji in th final of January s Australian Opn in Mlbourn. Japan s Shingo Kunida won his 18th Grand Slam singls titl by bating Franc s Stphan Houdt in th mn s final, whilst hom favourit Dylan Alcott won th quads titl with a win ovr th USA s David Wagnr. In th doubls, Grat Britain s Jordann Whily and Kamiji claimd th win, thir fifth succssiv Grand Slam titl, whilst thr wr also wins for Kunida and Houdt in th mn s and Grat Britain s Andy Lapthorn and Wagnr in th quads division. Mn s Visually impaird: Mac Marcoux (CAN) Standing: Alxy Bugav (RUS) Sitting: Takshi Suzuki (JPN)

11 20 THE PARALYMPIAN WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP THE PARALYMPIAN Paralympic silvr mdallists Russia claimd thir scond world titl in thr yars in Finland Th Nthrlands 17-yar-old Chris Vos cmntd his position as a fac for th futur at La Molina 2015, winning both gold mdals on offr World Whlchair Curling Championships 7-13 Fbruary Russia claimd thir scond world titl in thr yars aftr dfating China 7-4 in th gold mdal gam at th World Whlchair Curling Championships 2015 in Lohja, Finland. Th Sochi 2014 silvr mdallists wr suprb throughout th tournamnt, only losing on gam, and skip Andry Smirnov blivs it could b th start of somthing spcial. I think it will b a good chanc to furthr dvlop whlchair curling in Russia. W hav a lot of nw facilitis opning and nw popl who ar starting to play so w bliv this will b good for th sport in our homland, h said soon aftr winning gold. A silvr for th tournamnt s youngst tam China was thir highst vr finish at a World Championships, a rmarkabl achivmnt as th country only startd playing th sport in Hosts Finland scurd bronz with a 8-5 win ovr Slovakia. Paralympic champions Canada who had hopd to dfnd thir world titl finishd sixth ovrall whilst Scotland, Swdn and Norway wr all rlgatd to th World Whlchair Curling Qualification vnt. IPC Para-Snowboard World Championships Fbruary Dutch athlts dominatd th IPC Para-Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain, with Bibian Mntl-Sp and Chris Vos both winning doubl gold. For Paralympic champion Mntl-Sp, two world titls nsurd sh wnt th 2014/2015 sason unbatn, whilst Vos, who turnd 17 during th Championships, showd h is dfinitly a star for th futur. La Molina faturd two nw vnts following th sport s Paralympic dbut in Snowboard-cross saw athlts go had-to-had down th slop whilst bankd slalom saw boardrs tackl a s pctacular cours. In addition to th Dutch dlight, thr was also gold mdal succss in La Molina for Finland s Matti Suur-Hamari, Italy s Manul Pozzrl and USA s Brnna Huckaby in snowboard cross had-to-had, whilst th world titls in bankd slalom wnt to th USA s Mik Sha, Austria s Patrick Mayrhofr and Franc s Ccil Hrnandz-Crvllon. Twlv of th 18 participating countris won at last on mdal, showing th gographical sprad of talnt now pracising th sport at th highst lvl. Country Gold Silvr Bronz Total Th Nthrlands USA Italy

12 22 THE PARALYMPIAN WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP WORLD SPORT ROUNDUP THE PARALYMPIAN Country Gold Silvr Bronz Total Ostrsund 2015 Russia Franc Grmany March FINAL RANKINGS 1. South Kora 2. Swdn 3. Slovakia 4. Poland 5. Grat Britain 6. Austria + + NEWS IN-BRIEF + + SAILING: Norway s Bjørnar Erikstad claimd his scond ISAF Sailing World Cup gold in th 2.4mR class in Miami, USA in lat January. Th SKUD-18 class was won by Australia s Paralympic champion Dan Fitzgibbon and Lisl Tsch whilst th Norwgian tam of Alksandr Wang-Hansn, Pr Eugn Kristiansn and Mari Solbrg won th thr-prson Sonar Class Franc s Mari Bocht bcam th first athlt to win fiv world titls at back-to-back World Championships IPC Alpin Skiing World Championships 28 Fbruary - 10 March Franc s Mari Bocht and Russia s Alxy Bugav both compltd a clan swp of titls at March s IPC Alpin Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada. In winning all fiv gold mdals in th womn s standing class, 21-yarold Bocht cratd history by bcoming th first athlt vr to top th podium in all vnts at succssiv World Championships. Sh has now won a staggring 11 world titls in a row dating back to Considring his ag of just 17 yars, Bugav could soon follow in Bocht s footstps aftr h also provd unbatabl in th mn s standing class. Th biggst rivalry of th Championships was arguably btwn n Austria s Claudia Losch and Grmany s Anna Schafflhubr in th womn s sitting. In Sochi Schafflhubr won all fiv Paralympic titls but in Panorama had to sttl for two gold mdals, whilst rival Losch claimd thr. On hom snow Canada claimd on gold mdal through Mac Marcoux and brothr guid BJ in th mn s visually impaird downhill. Nordic Skiing World Cup Dcmbr - 22 March Th IPC Nordic Skiing sason cam to a clos on 22 March with th World Cup Finals in Surnadal, Norway. Aftr thr World Cup vnts hld btwn Dcmbr 2014 and March 2015, Russian skirs took six of th 12 ovrall titls. BIATHLON Womn s Visually impaird: Iuliia Budalva (RUS) Standing: Olksandra Kononova (UKR) Sitting: Anja Wickr (GER) Mn s Visually impaird: Nikolay Polukhin (RUS) Standing: Vladislav Lkomtcv (RUS) Sitting: Alxy Bychnok (RUS) CROSS-COUNTRY Womn s Visually impaird: Iuliia Budalva (RUS) Standing: Brittany Hudak (CAN) Sitting: Oksana Mastrs (USA) Mn s Visually impaird: Eirik By (NOR) Standing: Vladislav Lkomtcv (RUS) Sitting: Andrw Soul (USA) South Kora and hosts Swdn both won promotion back to ic sldg hocky s A-Pool for 2017 by winning th gold and silvr mdals at March s IPC Ic Sldg Hocky World Championships B-Pool. Hading into th final gam of th six tam tournamnt in Ostrsund, Swdn and South Kora wr unbatn and in th gold mdal dcidr th PyongChang 2018 host nation cam out on top 4-2. In addition to winning gold, South Kora also st a nw rcord during th tournamnt for th biggst win at a World Championships, courtsy of thir 15-0 thrashing of Poland. South Kora s Sung-Hwan Jung was namd Apldoorn March In front of a Dutch hom crowd, Alyda Norbruis had an vnt to rmmbr at th UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Apldoorn winning thr world titls and smashing on of hr own world rcords. Th 26-yar-old was th singl biggst winnr at th vnt which attractd 160 th tournamnt s Bst Forward aftr ntting 13 of his sid s 47 goals, whilst Swdn Niklas Ingvarsson was namd Bst Dfncman. Slovakia won bronz thir first-vr mdal on th IPC Ic Sldg Hocky stag aftr finishing th Championships with a 3-2 rcord and a goal diffrntial of zro. Dspit his sid bing rlgatd back to th C-Pool, Austria s Michal Ossimitz was namd th Bst Goaltndr of th tournamnt. H mad an astounding 158 savs in fiv gams and finishd th wk with an sav prcntag. cyclists from 30 countris. Sh won gold in th tim trial, pursuit and scratch racs and also lowrd hr tim trial world rcord by sconds. Dspit hr succss for th hom tam, Grat Britain toppd th mdals tabl with svn golds ovrall. Sarah Story, Sophi Thornhill (pilot Hln Scott) and Nil Fachi (pilot Ptr Mitchll) ld th way, ach winning two rainbow jrsys. Othr doubl gold mdal winnrs includd th USA s Josph Brnyi and th Chins duo of Jili Li and Zhangyu Li. Country Gold Silvr Bronz Total Grat Britain China USA JUDO: Uzbkistan dominatd th biggst para-sport vnt vr to tak plac in Hungary, winning four out of 13 vnts to top th mdals tabl at th IBSA Judo World Cup in Egr. TABLE TENNIS: Ukrain s playrs won six gold mdals to top th mdals tabl at March s Lignano Mastrs Opn 2015 in Italy. FOOTBALL 7: Europan champions Ukrain warmd-up for Jun s World Championships by going undfatd at th fiv-tam 2015 Footi 7 Intrnational Tournamnt in Portugal. ROWING: Th indoor sason saw Canada s Curtis Halladay brak th world rcord in th para LTA mn s 1,000m rac whil Camron Sinclair did th sam in th para TA mn s 1,000m. Franc s Prl Boug brok hr own para TA womn s 1,000m world rcord and Grat Britain s Grac Clough followd suit with a LTA womn s 1,000m world rcord. ATHLETICS: Tn world and 54 rgional rcords wr brokn during four days of action at th first IPC Athltics Grand Prix of th sason in Dubai, UAE. At th third Grand Prix of th sason in Tunis, Tunisia thr wr two world rcords in th fild. GOALBALL: Grat Britain, Russia and Portugal won promotion to th IBSA Mn s Europan Championships B Group following Fbruary s C-Group Championships in Malmo, Swdn. Grat Britain bat Russia 6-5 in th gold mdal match, whilst Portugal took bronz with a 9-4 win ovr Italy.

13 24 THE PARALYMPIAN FUTURE GAMES FUTURE GAMES THE PARALYMPIAN Rio 2016 Slcting th voluntrs bgins Aftr narly a quartr of a million popl from 192 countris applid to b a Rio 2016 voluntr, th Organising Committ has startd th procss of slcting th 70,000 thy nd to stag th Gams. To find th right popl, applicants ar taking part in an onlin xrcis and languag assssmnt. Intrviws will thn tak plac throughout this yar bfor lttrs of invitation to succssful candidats ar postd from Novmbr. Brazilians accountd for 60 pr cnt of th applicants, with th USA, Russia, China and Grat Britain providing th most forign applications. Among th Brazilian candidats, 50 pr cnt ar 25 yars old or youngr, whil 55 pr cnt 60% candidats from Brazil ar womn. Applicant ags rangd from 16 to ovr 80. Th applicants who ar slctd will b offrd a onyar onlin English cours, as wll as spcific training for thir rols. Thy will also rciv a uniform, mals and transport on working days, and a crtificat of participation. Voluntrs ar ndd for nin functional aras: customr srvics, sports, prss and communications, oprational support, crmonis production, protocol and languags, halth srvics, tchnology, and transport. 50% of th Brazilian applicants ar 25 yars old or youngr 55% fmal applicants PyongChang 2018 National Paralympic Day It s our turn! Btwn March, th PyongChang 2018 Organising Committ stagd its first annual National Paralympic Day clbration in Soul, South Kora, attracting around 15,000 popl. Th aim of th vnt, which faturd dmonstrations of whlchair curling and ic sldg hocky, was to rais awarnss of th nxt Paralympic Wintr Gams which tak plac in lss than thr yars tim. Othr activitis hld as part of th wknd includd a para-sport photo xhibition and a display of para-sport quipmnt. Around 500 dignitaris attndd th vnt including CHO Yang Ho, POCOG Prsidnt, KIM Jong Dok, Ministr of Cultur, Sports and Tourism, KIM Sung-Il, Prsidnt of th Koran Paralympic Committ (KPC), NA Kyung-won, IPC Govrning Board Mmbr and forign ambassadors in Kora. Fourth Projct Rviw and Excllnc Programm Start putting plans in to action was th clar mssag from th IPC to th PyongChang 2018 Organising Committ following th compltion of Fbruary s fourth Projct Rviw in Soul, South Kora. During two days of mtings, POCOG updatd th IPC on various functional aras including vnus, accommodation, accs- sibility, Paralympic Villag, transport and sport. Th IPC was also brifd on prparations for th Actualising th Dram projct, a promis from th bid phas to dvlop wintr para-sport. In th lad-up to th Gams, th IPC Acadmy will dlivr thr Excllnc Workshops this yar dsignd to provid th Organising Committ with xampls of bst practic, knowldg and larnings from prvious Gams. This summr s first workshop will b on Crating awarnss and influncing th mdia ahad of th Gams and it will b closly followd by Advancing Paralympic markting opportunitis and sponsors activation. Th yar s final workshop will b on Paralympic intgration in planning and Paralympic tsting. Th IPC Acadmy has prviously stagd Excllnc Programms with Sochi 2014 and Rio ,000 days to go To mark 2,000 days to go until th Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, childrn at an intrnational school in th host city wr givn th opportunity to try out football 5-a-sid alongsid a numbr of national playrs and larn mor about th Paralympic valus. Japan s national tam playr Knto Kato was joind at th school by Tsuyoshi Kitazawa and Atsuhiro Miura, two playrs who had rprsntd Japan s abl bodid tam at Asia Cups and Olympic Gams. I rally hop that vryon who attndd th vnt will rmmbr th xprinc forvr, said Kato. If th Tokyo 2020 Para lympics is abl to contribut to incrasing opportunitis for all popl, rgardlss of impairmnt, to tak part and njoy th bnfits of sport, thn I think that will b its gratst lgacy. Nw sponsors on board Th Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Gams may still b mor than fiv yars away, but th Organising Committ has announcd six gold partnrs in th first quartr of Thy ar: Tlcommunications srvics: Nippon Tlgraph and Tlphon (NTT) Corporation Br and wins: Asahi Brwris Stills camras and dsktop rprographic hardwar: Canon Oil, gas & lctricity supply: JX Nippon Oil & Enrgy Data cntr hardwar: Fujitsu Spcialist public safty quipmnt & softwar and ntwork quipmnt: NEC Corporation

14 26 THE PARALYMPIAN UPCOMING EVENTS GUADALAJARA 2011 Country Gold UPCOMING EVENTS THE PARALYMPIAN Silvr 2015 Toronto, Canada Bronz Total 7-15 August Toronto 2015 Parapan Amrican Gams August s Toronto 2015 Parapan Amrican Gams in Canada mark th start of a hugly important priod for th Paralympic Movmnt s growth in th Amricas. Taking plac during Canada s Yar of Sport, th vnt is st to attract mor than 1,600 athlts from 28 countris who will compt in 15 sports. All sports ar qualifirs for Rio 2016, incrasing th chancs of ach nation snding thir bst athlts. Brazil, who ar garing up for a hom Paralympic Gams in 2016, will start as strong favourits to top th mdals tabl having don so four yars ago in Guadalajara, Mxico. USA and hosts Canada ar xpctd to push thm clos. In ordr to gt rady for th Gams, around CAD 1.4 billion has bn invstd in oprational and capital projcts. Nw facilitis built for th Gams includ th spctacular CIBC Aquatics Cntr and Fild Hous, CIBC Athltics Stadium and th CISCO Milton Vlodrom; all vnus cratd with lgacy in mind. Mascot Pachi has also bn touring th rgion hlping to rais awarnss of th Gams. Toronto 2015 will b th fifth dition of th Parapan Amrican Gams and th third tim thy hav bn stagd in th sam city as th Pan Amrican Gams. Thanks to an agrmnt signd at January s PASO Gnral Assmbly, this concpt will continu for th forsabl futur as citis looking to host th Pan Amrican Gams will automatically hav to includ th Parapan Amrican Gams in thir bid as wll. Brazil USA Mxico THE SPORTS 2011 Guadalajara, Mxico 26 April - 3 May IPC Ic Sldg Hocky World Championships A-Pool 1999 Mxico City, Mxico Archry Athltics Boccia Football 5-a-sid Football 7-a-sid Goalball Judo Powrlifting 2007 Rio, Brazil Road cycling Sitting vollyball Swimming Tabl tnnis 2003 Mar dl Plata, Argntina Th first Parapan Amrican Gams took plac in Novmbr 1999 in Mxico City, Mxico, and involvd 1,000 athlts from 18 countris. On hom ic, USA will start as favourits to land th world titl On hom ic in Buffalo, th USA will aim to add th world titl to th Paralympic gold thy won in Track cycling Whlchair basktball Whlchair rugby Whlchair tnnis Th hosts ar drawn in Group B alongsid Grmany and Italy and will start thir campaign against Russia in a r-run of th Sochi 2014 gold mdal match. Dfnding champions Canada lin-up against Czch Rpublic, Norway and Japan in Group A. FIVE TO LOOK OUT FOR AT TORONTO 2015 PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES Following th succss of its Sochi 2014 covrag, US broadcastr NBC will show th USA s final group gam against Europan Champions Italy, togthr with on smi-final and th final MEXICO CITY 2015 TORONTO All matchs will b livstramd via th vnt wbsit. MATT STUTZMAN USA Stutzman hit th hadlins at London 2012 by winning Paralympic silvr dspit th fact h was born without arms. Imags of him shooting a bow and arrow wr amongst som of th most iconic imags of London YUNIDIS CASTILLO CUBA Cuba s most succssful vr Paralympian is on of only thr fmal para-athlts to hav run th 100 m in undr 12 sconds. Th 27-yar-old compltd a uniqu tripl hat-trick in 2013 winning world titls in th 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, just lik sh had don at London 2012 and th 2011 World Championships. 27 DIRCEU JOSE PINTO BRAZIL Pinto is st to mak his Parapan Amrican Gams dbut in August and is a four-tim Paralympic champion in th BC4 class. His rivalry with his pairs partnr Elisu dos Santos who currntly has a highr world ranking for individual gold in Toronto could b on of th highlights of th Gams. EDUARDO AVILA SANCHEZ MEXICO Sanchz causd a major shock at th 2014 World Championships whn h bat th Ukrainian Paralympic champion to tak gold in th mn s -81kg class. ZAK MADELL CANADA H may only b 20 yars old but Madll was Canada s top scorr at th 2014 World Championships in Dnmark and also crownd th tournamnt s Most Valuabl Playr. Canada ar now rankd scond in th world and thir match with th USA, who thy liminatd from th last two major comptitions, could b a classic. 1,000 1,600 ATHLETES FROM ATHLETES FROM COUNTRIES COUNTRIES ONES TO WATCH JOSH PAULS USA DMITRY LISOV RUSSIA GREG WESTLAKE CANADA

15 28 THE PARALYMPIAN UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS THE PARALYMPIAN Jun Blind judo to fatur at th 1st Europan Gams in Baku, Azrbaijan Jun Football 7-a-sid World Championships OTHER MAJOR EVENTS 26 April IPC Athltics Marathon World Championships London, Grat Britain April IPC Powrlifting Amricas Opn Championships Mxico City, Mxico 8-18 May IBSA World Gams Soul, South Kora Jun Boccia Asia/ Ocania Tam & Pairs Championships Hong Kong, China July IPC Powrlifting Asian Opn Championships Almaty, Kazakhstan August World Archry Para Championships Donauschingn, Grmany Th inaugural Europan Gams will tak plac in Baku, Azrbaijan, from Jun Blind judo has bn fully intgratd into th Judo programm, with mdals in th mn s ovr 90kg catgory and in th womn s undr 57kg catgory July IPC Swimming World Championships 28 July - 2 August UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships At last 16 judokas from Azrbaijan, Franc, Grmany, Grc, Grat Britain, Hungary, Russia, Spain, Turky and Ukrain will compt. In th mn s tournamnt, Ilham Zakiyv who has won two Paralympic gold mdals at Athns 2004 and Bijing 2008, and on bronz in London 2012 will compt for Azrbaijan. Zakiyv is also bing supportd by BP, an intrnational partnr of th IPC and also an official partnr of th Baku 2015 Europan Gams. Zakiyv said: To b slctd to rprsnt my country in blind judo at th first Europan Gams in Baku is a wondrful honour for m and I hop to mak history as th first Europan Gams champion. It is xcllnt that blind judo is includd at Baku 2015, and I am vry proud to hav th opportunity to win a mdal for Azrbaijan in th Hydar Aliyv Arna. Ukrain s won th 2014 Europan titl bating th Nthrlands Ukrain will start th World Championships in Burton-upon-Trnt, Grat Britain, as strong favourits following thir Europan titl win last yar. Th London 2012 silvr mdallists bat Russia, th dfnding world and Paralympic champions, on thir way to Europan glory last yar. Th 16 participating tams hav bn drawn into four groups of four: Glasgow 2015 is th last major vnt bfor Rio 2016 Lss than 12 months aftr hosting a hugly succssful Commonwalth Gams in Glasgow, th British city will stag th 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. Around 650 of th world s bst swimmrs from 50 countris will compt at th Tollcross Intrnational Swimming Cntr in what will b on of th last major comptitions ahad of Rio Italy s Alx Zanardi will b hunting for gold in Nottwil Th pictursqu Swiss town of Nottwil, situatd adjacnt to Lak Smpach, will play host to around 250 cyclists in what will b on of th last major para-cycling vnts prior to th nxt Paralympic Gams. On hom soil last Sptmbr, th USA toppd th mdals tabl at th World Championships in Grnvill and will b kn to rinforc thir position 12 months out from Rio Group A: Ukrain, Iran, England, Japan Group B: Russia, Rpublic of Irland, Australia, Portugal Group C: Brazil, Scotland, USA, Vnzula Group D: Nthrlands, Argntina, Canada, Northrn Irland Ukrain toppd th mdals tabl at th 2013 World Championships in Montral, Canada, but will fac stiff comptition from Russia and th host nation. Each day, liv covrag of both sssions, togthr with liv rsults, will b availabl via th vnt wbsit. Th mn s H5 class could produc th most intns racs with Dutch handcyclist Tim D Vris looking to challng th dominanc of Italy s Alx Zanardi and South Africa s Ernst Van Dyk. On th womn s sid also kp an y out for dual sport athlts Andra Eskau of Grmany who also xcls at Nordic skiing and th USA s Allison Jons who also dos alpin skiing. ONES TO WATCH ONES TO WATCH ONES TO WATCH TARAS DUTKO UKRAINE ILJAS VISKER NETHERLANDS JAN FRANCISCO BRITO DA CASTA BRAZIL ELLIE SIMMONDS GREAT BRITAIN MARY FISHER NEW ZEALAND YEVHENIY BOHODAYKO UKRAINE SARAH STOREY GREAT BRITAIN ALEX ZANARDI ITALY CAROLE COOK AUSTRALIA

16 30 THE PARALYMPIAN ISSUE OF THE SEASON ISSUE OF THE SEASON THE PARALYMPIAN IS S U E O F N A S S E O H E T How can th Paralympic Movmnt in th Amricas capitalis fully on th Toronto 2015 Parapan Amrican Gams, Rio 2016 Paralympics and othr upcoming vnts? Two ky playrs in th growth of th Paralympic Movmnt in th Amricas giv us thir viws. ampo ) Jos Luis C mmitt (APC Paralympic Co ricas Prsidnt Am r th spcial tim fo This is a vry nt. lympic Movm Amricas Para ic an ra pan A m r W ith th Pa pa n ra Pa Yo ut h G am s, th ram h ut ams, th So Am Ga ral th Para Cnt ican Gams, s ur s, and of co Amrican Gam a ng pi ar dvlo Rio 2016, w. ts n v ng calndar of stron ly scurs th mnt not on t Th PASO agr an Gams, bu rapan Amric as ic r futur of th Pa Am th us fl part of rally maks. spor ting family o 2016 and pirations for Ri to On of our as so important ronto 2015 is ad in this is why To d fi si ts to b clas hl at l al r fo ly is us tion. Prvious thir qualifica vanc through civd a wildr fid athlts many unclassi s, howvr I am ralympic Gam s will card to th Pa many countri r for Rio 2016 su ty t pr. advanc hlpin g to ir athlts in c ac tiv ity is Such r- classify th pa d an s s n cras awar inc in if this curbrs across th ld only dtrm ou sh w k in ticipation num n w th I succss wh important w d has bn a rio p an rgion and it is nt r r rapan Am ic gstrs involvd Lima 2019 Pa th h n ggt mor youn ac om r m t thn wha athlts of to. W must gaug o s as thy ar th a Ri m of Ga ck ba s td off th ks to initiativ hav gnra morrow. Than Youth tion, tum w da o Paulo 2017 un Fo Sa s ito th v li b I. from th Ag 16 n act as bridg 2016, 20 ican Gams ca and soon Rio r 15 Am 20 n o pa n nt ra ro Pa To mbr and qual Lima. c asing th nu - through to ni ch t w ar also incr s, r fi si as cl al on ss, rgi ; Pru h ch ac oa ity off co ill b a challng ms in 2019 w d officials. Ga an s y, but tr Th t un ga l co c d cal al Paralympi on iti ad tr a t portunity for s is no sn as an op at tnding th ar b l ld op ou p sh g at spor t from th r coun- th So many youn p Paralympic g back to thi lo in v rn d tu r to d us an sminars good work.. to carr y on th foundations up tris nthusd Parsons and bcomd whn Andrw so dvloping grow th star t al is idnts Th ar s s Pr PC u N th in Our is will cont ndoño wr Th Lo. al io av on si ct O s d d to continuing gnd an ing mor prof d I look forwar t w rcntly si an n C m AP r ag th ll suppor t of th thanks to th k closr of w with th fu s NPCs wor no ill k w or w ch is hi w th with PASO ar ts. aff. mpic countrp IPC and its st with thir Oly Andrw Parsons Prsidnt of th h Brazilian Para lympic Committ IPC Vic Prsidn and t I bliv thr is no bttr way to say how rais much th Rio Ga awarnss abou ms nxt yar r t th valus of th prsnt Paralym to th Paralympic pic Movmnt as Movmnt than str a tool for a mor s s- inclusiv soci ing th fact it wi ty. Th dbat rga ll b th firs t tim rding op th portunitis Paralympic Gam for popl with im s com to Latin Am pa irm nt and r ica. Th impact and lg thir rol in soci ty has incrasd acy will b immns and r for civd mo Brazil and th wh r attntion by go ol rgion. vrnmnts and mdia organisation s. In fa ct, it is alr a dy happ nin g. Th W ar prparation for fully confidnt th th Paralympics at this is just th ha s in - bginnin cludd a sris g. Th 2016 Para of vnts for high lympic Gams lvl will inspir athlts bing h gnrations an ld in th rgion, no d will introduc t only th Para in Brazil. Mor an lympic Movmnt d mor, ths v to mi llions in our nts continnt hav at tractd who may nvr ha comptitor s fro v m watchd La tin para-spor ts Amrica and oth bfor. r parts of th world. Th Caixa Lotrias At hltics and Swim ming W ar als Opn Intrnation o vry happy to al in São Paulo in hav won th April right to ho will hav a rcord st th Youth Parapa numbr of almos n Am Gams t 200 in Sao Pa forign athlts. ulo in It will b a grat boost for th young at hlts who will b motiinitiativs in partn vatd by th chan c to com and co rship with th Ag mp ito t s Foundation, Toro in Brazil just six m nto 2015 and Ri onths af tr th co o 20 un 16 try Organising Com hostd th Para mitts hav h lympics. W ar lpd to lookin alr a dy g forward to it. 31

17 32 THE PARALYMPIAN GUEST COLUMN Lik many sporting vnts, th Paralympic Gams is always looking to incras its mdia covrag. On prsistnt problm is simply logistical - do journalists want to stay in town for a furthr 20 days of work aftr th Olympics instad of rturning hom to thir familis? Thr ar of cours xcptions that show a gratr prfrnc for th Paralympics, and I think vryon is in agrmnt that th Gams nd and dsrv bttr covrag. To achiv this rquirs stratgic planning and profssional organisation. I bliv th first stp is to hav ddicatd Paralympic commntators, xprts on radio and tlvision that can mak broadcasts mor attractiv and mor intimat for viwrs by having a gratr knowldg of para-sports and its athlts. On solution could b for AIPS and th IPC to organis a sris of sminars to ducat mdia on th various intricacis of Paralympic sport. Altrnativly national or intrnational mdia comptitions for journalists with an impairmnt could b organisd whrby th priz is an opportunity to covr th Gams. Such initiativs would hlp to rais awarnss and bring th mdia closr to th xprincs of popl who want to show th strngth of thir souls through sport. Anothr lmnt that would incras covrag would b th intgration of moduls Ioannis Dara s viw A strong wind coms from th soul Education, human storis and mdia Gams ar th ky for th rvolution on th Paralympics into th graduat programms of Univrsitis that produc journalists and sport xcutivs. Including th Paralympics in th humanity aspcts of ths courss as wll would add anothr dimnsion to th ducation of popl who ultimatly can shap public opinion Ioannis Daras Country: Grc Position: Association Intrnational D La Prss Sportiv (AIPS) Europ Prsidnt AIPS Vic Prsidnt through thir work in th mdia. Although thr is a dsir to promot Paralympic sport as high prformanc sport throughout th Movmnt, it is oftn th back storis of athlts that can hlp ngag nw audincs in som trritoris. Each country is diffrnt in how rcptiv it is to Paralympic sport, but human intrst storis ar always xtrmly ngaging. Storis of athlts ovrcoming challngs and obstacls to prform on th world stag at th Paralympics hav ovr th yars dvlopd a suprb track rcord for changing prcptions and attituds towards popl with an impairmnt. Admiration rplacs sympathy and such storis can achiv hug cut through via tlvision, radio, th intrnt and nws - paprs to millions of homs around th world. During th London 2012 Paralympic Gams I was living in Lancastr, Grat Britain, whn my four yar old son watching highlights on TV said: Dad, how can this athlt b running so quickly with on lg whn I can t vn stand on my on lg? My answr was that thr is a strong wind that coms from th soul and pushs him ahad. WORLDWIDE PARALYMPIC PARTNERS THE PARALYMPIAN INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS A rcord numbr of mdia attndd th London 2012 Paralympic Gams

18 34 THE PARALYMPIAN To nabl Paralympic athlts to achiv sporting xcllnc and inspir and xcit th world.