PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Last week, the Chinese government adopted a law amendment to better protect the country's more than 83 million persons with a disability, in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in September.

An exciting new initiative to design a low cost sport wheelchair for Basketball and Tennis is underway through a partnership between Motivation Charitable Trust, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF). The International Paralympic Committe (IPC) was instrumental in bringing the partners together to address a major gap in low cost high quality equipment currently available for athletes worldwide.

Bonn, Germany - Today, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that the fifth VISTA Conference will be held in Vancouver, Canada, from 22 to 26 March 2009. The Conference will follow the Chef de Mission Seminar for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, held in Vancouver from 19 to 21 March 2009.

Over the last weekend, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes’ Council (AC) met in Amman, Jordan, to discuss athlete-related topics on the agenda. While defining its strengths and opportunities during a strategic review session, the AC also discussed problems over the years and the threats that could be dealt with in the future.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is proud to announce that there were no anti-doping rule violations during the 2007/2008 IPC Alpine and Nordic Skiing World Cups. A total of 66 in-competition doping tests were conducted in both sports during the winter season 2007-2008.

Bonn, Germany - Today, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission for the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games concluded its first visit to the Russian host city.

The city of Doha (Qatar) recently hosted the third Annual International Forum on Children with Special Needs.

The Alpine Skiing season has come to an end. Before the summer starts, it’s time to take a break and have a look at this year’s action around the globe!

In April 2008, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Medical and Scientific Director Dr. Peter Van de Vliet was invited by the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) FIMS to attend the FIMS Executive Committee meeting in Hong Kong, China, to present current IPC initiatives in the area of Medical Services and Sports Medicine/Sports Science.

The Otto Bock HealthCare, worldwide partner of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), is the official repair service provider of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games for prosthetics and wheelchairs. The contract between Otto Bock and BOCOG safeguards the more than 4,000 athletes expected to compete in September.

Last week, Nike announced the extension of its relationship with the US Olympic Committee (USOC) as an Official Outfitter of the US Olympic and Paralympic Teams through the London 2012 Games.

Last week, more than 20 specialists from the China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF) and the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee for Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG) gathered in Beijing, China, to contribute to building an excellent official Games-time website for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) has recently announced the return of the successful “Feel the Rush” campaign. The original launch occurred in 2006 and was met with much success and progress for the Movement.

Lausanne, Switzerland - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced the composition of its IOC Commissions for 2008. In several of these Commissions, representatives of the Paralympic Movement also contribute to the meetings and help to guide the IOC and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in their missions.

From 1 to 2 April, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) organized a symposium to allow International Federations (IFs) and WADA to exchange information and views on recent developments in the area of anti-doping and anti-doping administration, particularly on World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) compliance and IF roles and responsibilities with regard to the implementation of the revised WADC by 1 January 2009.