International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), founded in 1989, is the group of officials that organizes and oversees the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games are sports competitions that involve international athletes with disabilities. The Paralympic Games are very similar to, and closely linked with, the Olympic Games. In fact, the prefix “para” derives from a Greek term meaning “alongside,” signifying that the Paralympic Games occur alongside and as an equal partner to the Olympic Games. The International Paralympic Committee has been based in Bonn, Germany, since 1999.

Background

The Paralympic Games are rooted in the traditions of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece, where they were major events taking place every four years. The events pit the region’s top athletes against one another in a range of competitions. The Olympic Games and the ideas behind them faded for many centuries until being revived in the late nineteenth century. Since then, the Games have taken place almost every four years. In modern times, they draw thousands of athletes, both amateur and professional, from countries around the world. Many people consider the Olympics a prestigious showcase for athletes, a delight for spectators, and a major cultural event that encourages international unity.

The Paralympic Games are similar to the Olympic Games, but designed for athletes who have disabilities. Like the Olympics, the Paralympics are divided into Summer and Winter Games, which take place in an alternating fashion every two years. Generally, the Paralympic Games take place in the same city as the Olympics, but shortly afterwards. The events often mirror those of the Olympics, but are adapted for the needs of the athletes. For example, skiers in the Paralympic Games may use special harnesses, or the rules of races may be changed to accommodate racers in wheelchairs.

The athletes’ disabilities take a wide variety of forms, including visual disabilities, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, missing limbs, and other health conditions. Athletes are given designations based on their type and severity of disability, so that they can be most fairly matched against other competitors of similar ability levels. Athletes whose conditions become more or less severe over time may be re-evaluated and placed into different categories to more accurately reflect their current abilities.

Overview

The International Paralympic Committee oversees the Paralympic Games. Although the International Paralympic Committee was founded in 1989, its roots can be traced back much farther. In 1888, organizers in Berlin, Germany, had set up sport clubs for deaf athletes. The idea of creating sporting activities and competitions for athletes with disabilities greatly expanded in the years following World War II (1939–1945).

After the war, tens of thousands of young men returned home from battle with various injuries, many of them disabling. So, too, had many civilians been injured by bombings and other wartime hazards. In Britain, leaders came to believe that sports and games would be a healthy pursuit for those injured during wartime. In 1944, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Britain began designing sports for athletes with disabilities as a way to help their rehabilitation. In the coming years, these sports proved popular, and athletes pushed for a more competitive aspect.

A milestone event took place in July 1948 when Guttmann organized an archery contest for patients in wheelchairs. This event, called the Stoke Mandeville Games, coincided with the opening of the London Olympics. From that time on, the Olympics began to include some aspect of sport for athletes with disabilities.

The Stoke Mandeville Games developed over time and gained international attention. In 1960, the Games took on a broader title—the Paralympic Games—and that year welcomed four hundred athletes with disabilities from twenty-three nations. That same year, reformers began pushing to have more types of disabilities included in the games. By the 1980s, more people in more categories were included in the Games. As the movement grew, it required a distinct governing body. On September 22, 1989, the International Paralympic Committee came into existence. Headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, the Committee took on the task of overseeing the growing sports competitions.

In 1999, the group moved to nearby Bonn, Germany, where it remains into the 2020s. More than 130 officials of the International Paralympic Committee work at the headquarters. A Chief Executive Officer, heading a Governing Board of elected officials and a range of councils and committees, oversees their progress. The Committee encompasses over two hundred member and partner groups, including National Paralympic Committees, or leaders from individual countries; Regional Organizations, International Federations, and International Organizations of Sports for the Disabled. Together, these members discuss and arrange many initiatives meant both to carry out successful Paralympic Games, as well as to promote athletes with disabilities.

The International Paralympic Committee are responsible for publishing and updating the International Paralympic Committee Handbook, a reference guide that sets out not only sport rules and regulations, but also the core framework for the Paralympics. In addition, the work of the Committee establishes the overall goals of the Paralympics, which seeks to provide sporting activities for people with disabilities as well as to change negative or misinformed attitudes and treatment toward them.

The Committee formed its list of core values around the needs and achievements of its athletes. Among these values are the courage to push oneself to the greatest limits and the determination and toughness to continue even in the face of adversity. The Committee intends its athletes to serve as role models, showing people their accomplishments and inspiring others to follow suit. They also push to promote both diversity and equality, and that people with different bodies and minds can excel in different ways. The Committee hopes to challenge social barriers and stereotypes that have tended to overlook people with disabilities and underestimate what they can achieve if given the chance.

Bibliography

“About the International Paralympic Committee.” International Paralympic Committee, www.paralympic.org/ipc/who-we-are. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

“International Paralympic Committee.” City of Bonn, 2022, www.bonn.de/microsite/en/international-profile/international-location/internationalparalympiccommittee-ipc-.php. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

“International Paralympic Committee.” International Olympic Committee, 2021, olympics.com/ioc/ipc. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

International Paralympic Committee, www.paralympic.org/. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

“International Paralympic Committee, World Health Organization Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Cooperate In the Promotion of Diversity and Equity in Health and Sports.” World Health Organization, 22 July 2021, www.who.int/news/item/22-07-2021-international-paralympic-committee-world-health-organization-sign-memorandum-of-understanding-to-cooperate-in-the-promotion-of-diversity-and-equity-in-health-and-sports. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

“IPC Classification Code and International Standards.” Department of Veterans Affairs and International Paralympic Committee, United States, Nov. 2007, www.va.gov/opa/docs/remediation-required/about‗va/ParalympicClassificationCode.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

Owen, Chris, and Summer Walker. “Human Rights in Sport: Reflections on the Paralympic Games.” Norton Rose Fulbright, Sept. 2024, www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-bi/knowledge/publications/22c758f5/human-rights-in-sport-reflections-on-the-paralympic-games. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

“Paralympics History.” International Paralympic Committee, www.paralympic.org/ipc/history. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.