PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Bonn, Germany - Last week, during the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and CGF signed a co-operative agreement in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to ensure a formal institutional relationship between the two bodies and secure the future participation of elite athletes with a disability (EAD) in future Commonwealth Games.

Last weekend, the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOOCG) celebrated the 300-day-countdown to the Paralympics next year, which will officially open on 6 September 2008.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) would like to offer its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Joan Scruton who passed away on 1 November 2007.

On 10 November, Scuola dello Sport, together with the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP), will organize a one-day seminar for top coaches and trainers dedicated to sport activities for athletes with a disability. For the first time in Italy, sport for persons with a disability is integrated in a top level programme for coaches, becoming part of the Scuola dello Sport's education calendar.

From 1 to 3 November, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics group met in Bonn, Germany for a Sport Business Planning session and the Sport Technical Committee (STC) Meeting.

Yesterday, the 20th International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) Congress was officially opened in Cologne, Germany. Amongst congress participants from all over the world, Fritz Schramma, Lord Mayor of Cologne, Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, President of IAKS attened the Opening.

For the fourth time, a National Paralympic Day was held on 25 October in Tehran and 29 provinces of Iran with around 17,000 persons with a disability attending. Sport complexes throughout Iran opened their doors to mostly children with a disability, accompanied by their parents, coaches, volunteers and organizing staff.

Last weekend, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Science Committee held its meeting in Bonn, Germany.

On 25 October, more than 750 people attended Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame 52nd Induction Gala at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Canada.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) awarded Euro 230,350 (= AUD 365.000) to support a classification research project in the sport of IPC Athletics, entitled “Evaluating the Impact of Neuromusculoskeletal Impairment on Athletic Performance” and lead by Dr. Sean Tweedy (University of Queensland, Australia), Dr. John Bourke (Head of Classification, IPC Athletics) and Prof. Yves Vanlandewijck (Chairperson, IPC Sports Science Committee).

From 18 to 20 October, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Anti-Doping Committee and the IPC Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Committee held their annual meetings in Bonn, Germany.

Bonn, Germany - The 9th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission Meeting took place in Beijing, China, from 23 to 25 October.

From 19 to 21 October, the annual International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Sports Council Meeting was held in Bad Honnef, Germany.

From 11 to 14 October, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) conducted its first site inspection visit to one of the bid cities for the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships after this process has already been successfully started for Athletics in September.

Last week, the seven Applicant Cities for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan)* - attended the 2016 Applicant Cities’ Seminar at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, during which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provided advice and guidance to the cities for the months of bidding.

Following its approval by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Committee on 22 September, the 2008 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods has been published and will come into effect on 1 January 2008.

Bonn, Germany - The updated version of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Accreditation and Sport Entries at the Paralympic Games - Users’ Guide has been published today. This version of the Guide was produced and updated for the context of accreditation to be used during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. It will be updated following every edition of the Paralympic Games.

Bonn, Germany - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced today that a Belarusian athlete in the sport of Powerlifting, tested positive for a Prohibited Substance and a sanction of two years ineligibility was imposed for her first doping offence.

In its first year, the Organizational Development Initiative (ODI) is off to a great start. With nine National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) participating from four regions the ODI had officially gone global.

Bonn, Germany - Today, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced the winners of the Paralympic Awards 2007, which honour those who contribute directly to the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement.