The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games recently announced the introduction of IOC and IPC standards to Russia's national legal system. A new law assuring the status of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games was drafted in Russia's State Duma on 28 October.

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.

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.

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.