The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

and functions as the international federation for nine sports. Founded on 22 September 1989 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, its mission is to "enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world". Furthermore, the IPC wants to promote the Paralympic values and to create sport opportunities for all persons with a disability, from beginner to elite level. The IPC has a democratic constitution and structure and is composed of representatives from 182

National Paralympic Committee A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...

s (NPCs), four international organizations of sport for the disabled (IOSDs) and five regional organizations. The IPC's headquarters is located in Bonn, Germany.

Overview

On the basis of being able to organize the

more efficiently and to give the Paralympic movement one voice, the four international organizations of sports for the disabled, founded the International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports Organizations for the Disabled (ICC) in 1982. In the upcoming years, other organizations joined and the need for a democratically guided organization emerged, demanded by the nations participating in the Paralympic Movement. They desired a democratic structure, to improve national and regional representation, which led to the foundation of the IPC as it is known today. The

1994 Winter Paralympics The 1994 Winter Paralympics ( no, Paralympiske vinterleker 1994; nn, Paralympiske vinterleikane 1994), the sixth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 10 to 19 March 1994. These Games marked the second time the Paraly ...

, Norway, were the first to be organized by the IPC. The IPC functions as an umbrella organization, representing several sports and disabilities, in contrast to other international sports organizations for athletes with a disability, which are predominantly limited to a single sport or disability (as well as the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

, who relies on separate member sanctioning bodies representing each Olympic sport). A fifteen-member Governing Board oversees the IPC between meetings of the General Assembly. Dr. Robert D. Steadward became the first President in 1989. Since 2017, Andrew Parsons is President of the IPC.

Presidents

The International Paralympic Committee has had three presidents to date. Its founding president, who presided it from 1989 to 2001, was the Canadian

Robert Steadward Robert Daniel Steadward, (born May 26, 1946) is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached C ...

, who had previously founded the Canadian Sports Fund for the Physically Disabled."Robert Steadward, builder"
, Canadian Paralympic Committee He was succeeded in 2001 by

Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...

, a British Paralympian and former President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, who served as president until 2017. Craven was succeeded by Brazil's Andrew Parsons, IPC Vice President from 2013 to 2017 and a former President of the

Brazilian Paralympic Committee The Brazilian Paralympic Committee (BPC; pt, Comitê Paralímpico Brasileiro – CPB) is the private, non-profit organization representing Brazilian Paralympic athletes in the Paralympic Games and the Parapan American Games. It is the gover ...

Governing Board

The IPC Governing Board consists of 14 members, of which 12 are elected at the General Assembly, including the President and Vice President. The most recent election for the Governing Board was held on 12 December 2021: * Andrew Parsons, President * Duane Kale, Vice President * Debra Alexander * Mohamed Alhameli * Jai-Jun Choung * Marianna "Muffy" Davis * Chelsey Gotell * Miki Matheson * Luca Pancalli * John Petersson * Majid Rashed * Robyn Smith The IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson, Jitske Visser, and IPC Athletes' Council First Vice Chairperson, Josh Dueck, also have voting rights on the board.

IPC Honorary Board

The IPC has an honorary board of distinguished individuals who support the IPC's goals and use their profile to raise funds and awareness for its work. Current honorary board members are: * Princess Margriet of the Netherlands * Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg *

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Monarchy of Sweden, Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to t ...

Prince Albert of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

* James Wolfensohn, former President of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Maria Guleghina Maria Agasovna Guleghina, russian: Mapия Aгacoвнa Гулeгинa, uk, Марія Агасівна Гулегіна, hy, Մարիա Գուլեգինա (née Meytardjan (russian: Мейтарджян); born 9 August 1959) is a Soviet-born ope ...

, opera singer *

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein Princess Haya bint Hussein ( ar, الأميرة هيا بنت الحسين; born 3 May 1974) is the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia, and the half-sister of King Abdullah II. She is a graduate of the University ...

Thérèse Rein Thérèse Virginia Rein (born 17 July 1958) is an Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Rein is the wife of Kevin Rudd, who was the Prime Minister of Austra ...

, Founder of

Ingeus Ingeus Limited is a British-based, Australian provider of employment and health programmes, services for young people, training and skills support, Labour hire and probation services. It is notable in part, for being founded by Thérèse Rein, t ...

Princess Astrid of Belgium Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Prin ...

History

Chronology of milestones in the development of the International Paralympic Committee and the

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

and

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

Publications

The IPC publishes ''The Paralympian'' three times a year.

Paralympic SPORT.TV

The

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

and other sport events related The Paralympic Movement to be watched on Internet TV channel for Paralympic sports created of IPC.

Paralympic Hall of Fame

* 2006: Jouko Grip ,

Ulla Renvall Ulla Renvall is a former Swedish Paralympic nordic skiing and athletics (sport), athletics coach. During the 2006 Winter Paralympics she was inducted into the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame, Paralympic Hall of Fame. Biography Trained athletes *19 ...

, Annemie Schneider * 2008: Connie Hansen ,

Claudia Hengst Claudia Hengst (born 3 September 1969, in Gräfelfing) is a former German paralympic athlete, who won 25 medals (13 gold) at the Summer Paralympics. In 2008 were inducted into Paralympic Hall of Fame. Biography Her category was L6 and then S10. ...

, Peter Homann ,

André Viger André Viger, (September 27, 1952 – October 1, 2006) was a French Canadian wheelchair marathoner and Paralympian. He took part in five consecutive Summer Paralympic Games in athletics from 1980 to 1996, winning a total of three gold, three ...

Kevin McIntosh Kevin McIntosh is an Australian cycling coach. Personal McIntosh is from South Australia. He lives in Adelaide, South Australia. Cycling McIntosh is an Australian cycling coach. As Victorian Junior Coach, McIntosh coached, Brett Lancaster ...

(coach) * 2010: Tanja Kari , Chris Waddell ,

Rolf Hettich Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. A ...

(coach) * 2012:

Louise Sauvage Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM (born 18 September 1973) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach. Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won nine gold and four silver medals at fo ...

, Trischa Zorn-Hudson ,

Roberto Marson Roberto Marson (29 June 1944 – 7 November 2011) was an Italian multisport athlete who competed at the Summer Paralympics on four occasions and won a total of 26 Paralympic medals. He lost the use of his legs when a pine tree he was chopping ...

Frank Ponta Francis Ettore Ponta (8 November 1935 – 1 June 2011) was an Australian Paralympic competitor and coach. He competed in several sports including basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. A paraplegic, he lost the use of both his legs aft ...

, Chris Holmes * 2014:

Jon Kreamelmeyer Jon Kreamelmeyer (born 1947) is an American cross-country skiing coach and a member of the Paralympic Hall of Fame. Early life and career Kreamelmeyer was born and raised in Colorado. He graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University with a degree in E ...

, Eric Villalon Fuentes , Verena Bentele

Paralympic marketing

The Organizing Committees

In June 2001, the

(IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that the staging of the

is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games.IPC-IOC Co-operation
The official website of the International Paralympic Committee The agreement came into effect at the

2008 Paralympic Summer Games The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

in Beijing, and the

2010 Paralympic Winter Games ) , nations = 44 , athletes = 506 , events = 64 in 5 sports , opening = 12 March , closing = 21 March , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Zach Beaumont , stadium = BC Place , winter_pr ...

in Vancouver. However, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee (SLOC), chose to follow the practice of "one bid, one city" already at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, with one Organizing Committee for both Games, which was followed up by the 2004 Games in Athens and Beijing in 2008. The agreement was adjusted in 2003. An extension was signed in June 2006. A further extension was signed in 2012, valid until 2020. In March 2018, a historic long-term extension was signed establishing a partnership until 2032.

National Paralympic Committees (NPCs)

The NPCs receive financial support for the training and development of Paralympic teams, Paralympic athletes and Paralympic hopefuls.

International Paralympic Sports Federations (IFs)

There are 11 international federations recognized by the IPC, and there are four disability specific organizations, while the IPC itself serves as the international federation for 10 sports.Contacts – International Sports Federations (IFs)
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) On 30 November 2016, the IPC officially adopted the "World Para" brand for all sports in which it is the international federation. Sports contested in the Summer Paralympics began using the new branding immediately. For winter sports, whose competitive seasons had already started by the announcement, only the world championships were immediately changed to reflect the new branding; the full switchover did not occur until the 2017–18 season. Note that the Paralympic versions of some sports have different governing structures than the able-bodied versions of the same sports: * The remit of World Para Nordic Skiing includes both Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing; the able-bodied versions of the two disciplines are governed by entirely separate international federations, respectively the

International Biathlon Union The International Biathlon Union (IBU; german: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the ...

(IBU) and

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

(FIS). * Able-bodied Alpine skiing and snowboarding are also governed by FIS. The IPC has distinct governing councils for its versions of the sports.

World Para Alpine Skiing

Supervises and co-ordinates the

World Para Alpine Skiing Championships The World Para Alpine Skiing Championships, known before the 2017 edition as the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, along with the Winter Paralympic Games, are the most prestigious level of international competition in Paralympic alpine skiing. ...

and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaAlpineSkiing.orgParalympic.org/alpine-skiing
* Sport name:

Para alpine skiing Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the Internat ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Alpine Skiing

World Para Athletics

Supervises and co-ordinates the

World Para Athletics Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

, World Para Athletics European Championships and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaAthletics.orgParalympic.org/athletics
* Sport name: Para athletics * Former sport committee name: IPC Athletics

World Para Dance Sport

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Dance Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed from "wheelchair dance sport" to "Para dance sport" due to the IPC's desire to expand the sport beyond wheelchair users. * Official website
WorldParaDanceSport.orgParalympic.org/dance-sport
* Sport name:

Para dance sport Wheelchair DanceSport is a dance competition, individual, partner dance, partner, team and Dancesport where at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Sport Wheelchair couple dances are for two wheelchair users or for one wheelchair user ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport

World Para Ice Hockey

Supervises and co-ordinates the

World Para Ice Hockey Championships The World Para Ice Hockey Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships, are the world championships for sledge hockey. They are organised by the International Paralympic Committee through its World P ...

and other competitions. With the November 2016 rebranding, the official name of the sport was changed from "sledge hockey" to "Para ice hockey". This change was made upon the request of the sport's community, partly due to the word "sledge" having different meanings across languages. * Official website
WorldParaIceHockey.orgParalympic.org/ice-hockey
* Sport name:

Para ice hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitat ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Ice Sledge Hockey

World Para Nordic Skiing

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaNordicSkiing.orgParalympic.org/nordic-skiing
* Sport name:

Para Nordic skiing Paralympic Nordic skiing is a Winter Paralympics sport consisting of biathlon and cross-country skiing. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, with its subcommittee for Nordic skiing known as World Para Nordic Skiing. Par ...

(includes Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing) * Former sport committee names: IPC Biathlon & IPC Cross-Country

World Para Powerlifting

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Powerlifting Championships and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaPowerlifting.orgParalympic.org/powerlifting
* Sport name:

Para powerlifting Paralympic powerlifting, also known as para powerlifting and para-lifting, is an adaptation of the sport of powerlifting for athletes with disabilities. The only discipline in Paralympic powerlifting is the bench press. The sport is governed by th ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Powerlifting

World Shooting Para Sport

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Shooting Para Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed as "shooting Para sport" to avoid possible confusion with

parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

. * Official website
WorldShootingParaSport.orgParalympic.org/shooting
* Sport name:

Shooting Para sport Paralympic shooting, also known as shooting Para sport, is an adaptation of shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a s ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Shooting

World Para Snowboard

Supervises and co-ordinates the

World Para Snowboard Championships World Para Snowboard Championships, was played first time at 2015. Locations Medal table Medalists Men's events ;Snowboard cross SB-LL1 ;Snowboard cross SB-LL2 ;Snowboard cross SB-UL ;Banked slalom SB-LL1 ;Banked slalom SB-LL2 ;Bank ...

and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaSnowboard.orgParalympic.org/snowboard
* Sport name:

Para snowboard Snowboarding is a Paralympic sport that is contested at the Winter Paralympic Games. Snowboarding was first introduced with snowboard cross a part of the Alpine skiing discipline at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. At the 2018 ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Snowboard

World Para Swimming

Supervises and co-ordinates the

World Para Swimming Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

and other competitions. * Official website
WorldParaSwimming.orgParalympic.org/swimming
* Sport name:

Para swimming Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Paralym ...

* Former sport committee name: IPC Swimming

The Paralympic Partner programme

The Paralympic Partner (TOP) sponsorship programme includes the following commercial sponsors of the Paralympic Games. * Atos *

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

* Ottobock * Panasonic *

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

Notes

References

IPC Style Guide
International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

External links

*
Paralympic Sport TV YouTube channel
{{Coord, 50, 43, 10, N, 7, 06, 58, E, display=title, region:DE-NW_type:landmark_source:dewiki Parasports organizations International organisations based in Bonn Sports organizations established in 1989 1989 establishments in West Germany

Overview

Presidents

Governing Board

IPC Honorary Board

History

Publications

Paralympic SPORT.TV

Paralympic Hall of Fame

Paralympic marketing

The Organizing Committees

National Paralympic Committees (NPCs)

International Paralympic Sports Federations (IFs)

World Para Alpine Skiing

World Para Athletics

World Para Dance Sport

World Para Ice Hockey

World Para Nordic Skiing

World Para Powerlifting

World Shooting Para Sport

World Para Snowboard

World Para Swimming

The Paralympic Partner programme

See also

Notes

References

External links