News

At the Uganda Para Badminton International 2021 in Kampala (16–21 November), 15 female players were handed the BWF Female Participation Grant to be classified and to participate for the first time at the tournament.

Some of the first-time recipients included athletes from Benin, DR Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

One such athlete was Guillain-Barré syndrome-affected Zimbabwean Yemurai Ngoma, who uses Para badminton as an advocacy tool to raise awareness among fellow female athletes on their sexual reproductive health rights as well as gender violence.

Kenneth Lee, World Wheelchair Rugby Chief Medical Officer has published a book entitled – Concussion Management for Wheelchair Athletes – Evaluation and Examination

BISFed recently held its 4th General Assembly, with the participation of 69 representatives from 37 BISFed Members. The meeting was held online, and the BISFed President gave a full report on progress during the last two years, highlighting the success of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The Treasurer confirmed that BISFed remains financially secure, having managed its affairs prudently during the pandemic.

FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez has been unanimously re-elected President of the Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) for the four-year term 2021-2025.

Ibáñez was re-elected at the APSO General Assembly which took place prior to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly where Andrew Parsons (BRA) was himself re-elected IPC President for a second consecutive four-year term.

The first ever World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is set to take place in Lohja, Finland from 30 April until 6 May 2022 at the Kisakallio Sports Institute.

This inaugural championship will be played less than three weeks after the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, allowing for some athletes to compete in both a World Wheelchair Curling Championship and the Paralympic Games in the same year.

The World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship plans to feature upwards of 25 teams and will see one female and one male player per team.

The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) has announced that the 2023 IWAS World Games will take place in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, from 1-9 December.

The city will finally get the chance to stage the multi-sport event after missing out in 2020 because of COVID-19. It will follow the recently announced 2022 IWAS World Games in Sochi, Russia.

The first ever International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Blind Football Women’s European Championships will be held in Pescara, Italy, in 2022, just ahead of the next men’s edition in the same location.

The women’s Euros join the recently announced first Americas and Asian Championships for female players in Argentina and India, respectively.

Four teams are expected to compete in Pescara from 2-7 June as women’s blind football takes off around the world, whilst 10 countries will go for the title in the men’s from 8-18 June.

An independent working group of experts and medical professionals, tasked by the ITF to review the current Minimum Impairment Criteria (MIC) within the ITF’s Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules, has delivered its final report which has now been approved by the ITF Board and the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Classification Committee.

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Executive Board have appointed the Chairs for seven sport committees following a call for applications.

The committees are responsible for elements of the management of the sports such as the competition calendar, rules and development.

World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) is excited to announce, that Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) have been awarded the hosting rights for the 2023 World Wheelchair Rugby European Championship Division A Tournament.