PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

On 3 November, B.C. Education Minister Shirley Bond, Vancouver 2010 Executive Vice President of Celebrations and Partnerships, David Guscott, and Canadian Paralympic Committee President, Carla Qualtrough, joined Paralympic gold-medallist Todd Nicholson to officially launch the first Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week, together with Vancouver 2010 Paralympic mascot, Sumi and students and staff of James McKinney Elementary School in Vancouver.

After the success of its first seminar in May 2007, the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) is more than halfway through its second international seminar on “Sport in Post-Disaster Intervention” in Rheinsberg, Germany. The aim of the six-day seminar is to deliver practical and theoretical training, encouraging participants to develop psychosocial sport programmes in the early stages of disaster relief.

The London 2012 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) kicked off its mascot search last week, which will include hopeful applicants from creative agencies who emphasize active public engagement. Like many of the previous Games, the Paralympic Games will have a separate and distinct mascot from the Olympic Games.

The November edition of paraEmotion is now available on ParalympicSport.TV. Inside this month’s edition, Paralympic fans have the opportunity to get a glimpse into some of the spectacular events that were part of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

From 20 to 22 November, the Classifying Disability and Sports Technology Conference (CDSTC) will take place in Singapore, bringing together many leading professionals to address sports issues at all levels. Organized by the Singapore-based Disability Classification and Research Centre, the conference aims to mobilize the sports movement in Asia by gaining better insight into concepts of classification and training approach in Paralympic sports.

The city of Gävle, Sweden, will host the 2009 International Symposium on Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) on the theme “APA for Health, Participation, Accessibility and Performance” from 23 to 27 June 2009.

Today marks 500 days before the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games take place. And with the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games officially over, the focus now turns completely towards Canada.

Bonn, Germany - The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Co-ordination Commission for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010 paid its seventh visit to Vancouver, Canada, from 21-23 October.

Bonn, Germany - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) honoured the recipients of the 2008 Paralympic Order last week as the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games came to a close. This year, the Paralympic Order was given to several people for their commitment to the success of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in the Chinese capital on 18 September.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is calling for research applications for all projects that are to be conducted during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, from 12 to 21 March 2010. The IPC Research Application Form, as well as details on the application procedure, schedules, and examples of previously approved research projects are on the IPC website in the Sport Science section.

Bonn, Germany - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is proud to announce that its Internet TV Channel ParalympicSport.TV (PSTV) has won the W³ Silver Award in three categories.

Bonn, Germany - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Dance Sport Federation (IDSF) signed a co-operative agreement to ensure a formal institutional relationship between the two bodies and further develop the sport of Wheelchair Dance Sport. Furthermore, IPC and IDSF will work together to progress the realization of a single international governing body for Dance Sport, which encompasses Wheelchair Dance Sport.

In commemoration of 20 years after the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games, the Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC) is hosting a full-scale celebration today with almost 300 invited guests and participants.

As part of SPORTEL Monaco 2008, the first HandiTel International Conference will take place on 22 October at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The addition to the programme this year officially opens up the highly-influencial audience and participants to the Paralympic world and its broadcasting possibilities.