International Paralympic Committee

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

International Paralympic Committee

Internationales Paralympisches Komitee (German)
Abbreviation	IPC
Formation	22 September 1989; 35 years ago (1989-09-22)
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Bonn, Germany
Membership	183 National Paralympic Committees (September 2023)
Official language	English and the host country's official language when necessary
President	Andrew Parsons
Vice President	Duane Kale
Website	www.paralympic.org [1]
Anthem: Paralympic Anthem

The IPC leads the Paralympic Movement, oversees the delivery of the Paralympic Games and supports its 200 plus member organisations to enable Para athletes to achieve sporting excellence. Founded on 22 September 1989 in Düsseldorf, then part of West Germany, its vision is to “make for an inclusive world through Para sport”. Furthermore, the IPC aims to use Para sport as a catalyst to changing attitudes and legislation, creating greater opportunities for the world’s 1.3 billion persons with disabilities.

The IPC has a democratic constitution and structure and is composed of representatives from 183 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs),^[2] 17 International Federations, three International Organizations of Sport for the Disabled (IOSDs) and five regional organizations.^[a] The IPC's headquarters is located in Bonn, Germany.

Overview

On the basis of being able to organize the Paralympic Games 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, as 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 Paralympic Winter Games, in Norway, were the first to be organized by the IPC.

With its 208 member organisations, the IPC functions as an umbrella organization, in contrast to other international sports organizations for athletes with a disability, which are predominantly limited to a single sport or disability.

A 14-member Governing Board is responsible for the governance of the IPC between meetings of the General Assembly. 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 over it from 1989 to 2001, was the Canadian Robert Steadward, who had previously founded the Canadian Sports Fund for the Physically Disabled.^[1] He was succeeded in 2001 by Philip Craven, 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, who was IPC Vice President from 2013 to 2017 and a former President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee.^[3]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Country of origin
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Robert Steadward (born 1946)	22 September 1989	8 December 2001	12 years, 77 days	Canada
2		Philip Craven (born 1950)	8 December 2001	8 September 2017	15 years, 274 days	United Kingdom
3		Andrew Parsons (born 1977)	8 September 2017	Incumbent	7 years, 343 days	Brazil

Governing Board

The former IPC headquarters in Bonn

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:^[3]

• Andrew Parsons, President
• Duane Kale, Vice President
• Debra Alexander
• Mohamed Alhameli
• Jai-Jun Choung
• Marianna Davis
• Chelsey Gotell
• Miki Matheson
• Luca Pancalli
• John Petersson
• Majid Rashed
• Robyn Smith

The IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson, Vladyslava Kravchenko, and IPC Athletes' Council First Vice Chairperson, Josh Dueck, also have voting rights on the board.

History

Chronology of milestones in the development of the International Paralympic Committee and the Summer and Winter Paralympics.

Year	Event
1944	Dr Ludwig Guttmann established the Spinal Injuries Centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.[4][5]
1948	On 29 July, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr Ludwig Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympics history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery[6]
1952	Dutch ex-servicemen travelled to England to compete against British athletes and this led to the establishment of the International Stoke Mandeville Games.[6]
1955	International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS) officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[5]
1960	18–25 September – Rome Summer Paralympics – 400 athletes from 23 countries; 57 events in 8 sports.[7] These Games became known as the 1st Summer Paralympic Games and were the 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games. The Games followed the Rome Olympics and used same venues.
1960	International Stoke Mandeville Games Committee (ISMGC) established.[5]
1962	International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (IOSD) was established to assist visually impaired, amputees, persons with cerebral palsy and paraplegics who were not eligible to compete at the International Stoke Mandeville Games.[6]
1964	3–12 November – Tokyo Summer Paralympics – 375 athletes from 21 countries; 144 events in 9 sports. Weightlifting added to the program.[7] Opening ceremony held in front of 5,000 spectators.[8]
1968	4–13 November – Tel Aviv Summer Paralympics – 750 athletes from 29 countries; 181 events in 10 sports.[7] New sports included lawn bowls, women's basketball and Men's 100m wheelchair race.
1972	2–11 August – Heidelberg Summer Paralympics – 984 athletes from 43 countries; 1987 events in 10 sports.[7] Events for quadriplegic added to program for the first time.[7] Demonstration events for visually impaired athletes.[7] Heidelberg was used as the Olympic Village in Munich was unavailable as it was converted into private apartments.[8]
1976	3–11 August – Toronto Summer Paralympics – 1657 athletes from 38 countries; 447 events in 13 sports.[7] Amputee and vision impaired athletes competed for the first time.[4][5] goalball, shooting and standing volleyball added to program.[7] Specialized racing wheelchairs used for the first time.[7]
1976	21–28 February – Örnsköldsvik Winter Paralympics – 198 athletes from 16 countries; 53 events in 2 sports. First Winter Paralympics. Games demonstrated innovations in ski equipment design with 'three-track skiing' using crutches. Demonstration event was sledge racing.[9]
1976	UNESCO Conference established the right for people with a disability to participate in sport and physical education.[5]
1980	21–30 June – Arnhem Summer Paralympics – 1973 athletes from 42 countries; 489 events in 12 sports. Sitting volleyball added to the program.[7] Moscow declined to host the Games.[8] Cerebral palsy athletes compete for the first time.[4][7] There were 12,000 spectators at the opening ceremony.[8]
1980	1–7 February – Geilo Winter Paralympics – 350 athletes from 18 countries;[9] 63 events in 2 sports. Amputee, visual impairment and les autres compete for the first time at a Winter Games.[9]
1982	International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports Organisations for the Disabled (ICC) was established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to the need for a single governing body to look after disability sport[4][10]
1984	17–30 June (US) / 22 July – 1 August (UK) – Stoke Mandeville/New York Summer Paralympics – 1100 athletes from 41 countries (UK) and 1,800 from 45 countries (USA); 903 events in 18 sports.[7] New York Games were held at the Hofstra University and events were held for amputees, les austres, cerebral palsy and vision impaired athletes. Stoke Mandeville Games were for athletes with a spinal cord disability. It was decided that future Games should be held in one city. boccia, road cycling and football 7-a-side added to program.[7]
1984	14–20 January – Innsbruck Winter Paralympics – 457 athletes from 21 countries;[9] 107 events in 3 sports. Cerebral palsy athletes compete for the first time.[9]
1984	1984 Los Angeles Olympics included Men's 1500m and Women's 800m wheelchair races as demonstration events.
1984	The term Paralympic Games approved by the IOC.[5] It was used in the lead up to the 1988 Seoul Paralympics.[4]
1988	18–24 October – Seoul Summer Paralympics – 3057 athletes from 61 countries; 732 events in 16 sports. The Games utilized Olympic facilities.[7] For the first time short stature athletes competed in the les autres category.[4] Judo was added to the program[7] and Wheelchair tennis was a demonstration sport.
1988	17–24 January – Innsbruck Winter Paralympics – 397 athletes from 22 countries;[9] 96 events in 4 sports. Sit ski events introduced in the sports of alpine and Nordic skiing.[9]
1989	On 22 September, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) replaced the ICC as the governing body of the Paralympic movement with Canadian Robert Steadward as its inaugural President.[11][12]
1990	ISMFG changed its name to International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF).
1990	IPC agreement with the ICC so that it remained responsible for the Paralympic Games until after the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games.[12]
1992	3–14 September – Barcelona Summer Paralympics – 3001 athletes from 33 countries:[7] 431 events in 16 sports Wheelchair tennis was a medal sport for the first time. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch attended and endorsed the Games.[5] Inaugural Paralympics for Persons with an Intellectual Disability held in Madrid, Spain immediately after the Games.[7] Final Games organized by ICC.[12]
1992	25 March – 1 April – Tignes/Albertville Winter Paralympics – 475 athletes from 24 countries;[9] 78 events in 3 sports. Biathlon added to the program.[9] Demonstration events held for athletes with an intellectual disability in alpine and cross country skiing.[9] First Winter Games to share Olympic venues.[9]
1992	The Mind, Body and Spirit logo (3 tae-guks) adopted by IPC and used until 2003.[4][12]
1993	IPC established a Sport Science Committee.[5]
1994	10–19 March – Lillehammer Winter Paralympics – 492 athletes from 31 countries;[9] 133 events in 5 sports. First Winter Games held under IPC control and Games aligned to revised Winter Olympic Games four-year schedule. Ice sledge hockey added to the program.[9]
1995	International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS) withdraws from the IPC.[12]
1996	16–25 August – Atlanta Summer Paralympics – 3259 athletes from 104 countries; 508 events in 20 sports. Athletes with an intellectual disability included for the first time at a Summer Games. equestrian and track cycling discipline added to the program[7] and sailing was a demonstration sport. IPC officially hosted the Games for the first time and assumed responsibility for future Games.[5] First Games to attract worldwide sponsorship. 12,000 volunteers assisted with the operation of the Games.[8]
1998	5–14 March – Nagano Winter Paralympics – 571 athletes from 32 countries;[9] 122 events in 4 sports. Athletes with an intellectual disability included for the first time at a Winter Games. With the internet in its infancy, the official website recorded 7.7 million hits during the Games.[8]
1999	IPC moved into what remains its current Headquarters in Bonn, Germany.[10] IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch attended opening.[12]
1999	INAS-FMH changed its name to International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability(INAS-FID).
2000	18–29 October – Sydney Summer Paralympics – 3,881 athletes from 122 countries;[7] 551 events in 20 sports. First Games held in the Southern Hemisphere. Women's events were included in the powerlifting program and wheelchair rugby and sailing were medal sports for the first time.[7] IOC signed a co-operation agreement with IPC to strengthen their relationship.[5][12] Games had comprehensive international television coverage for the first time. Over 340,000 school children attended and were given an insight into Paralympic sport.[8]
2001	Robert Steadward was succeeded by the former British Paralympian Sir Philip Craven after serving three terms as president.[10][12]
2001	On 19 June, IPC and IOC signed an agreement that ensured the practice of "one bid, one city", meaning the same city will host both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.[4][12]
2001	IPC General Assembly suspended athletes with an intellectual disability (ID) from the Paralympic Games due to 69% of athletes who won medals in intellectual disability events at the Sydney Games not having the correct ID verification.[4]
2002	7–16 March – Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics – 416 athletes from 36 countries;[9] 92 events in 5 sports. Worldwide television coverage was secured by the organizers, and there was high demand for tickets.[8]
2003	Sir Philip Craven, IPC President elected as a new IOC member at the 115th IOC Session in Prague, Czech Republic.[5][12]
2003	IPC Governing Board approved the development of a Universal Classification Code.[12]
2003	New Spirit in motion logo (Agitos) adopted by IPC.[4][12]
2003	IPC signs the World Anti-Doping Code and revised its Anti-Doping Code to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code.[5]
2004	17–28 September – Athens Summer Paralympics – 3808 athletes from 135 countries;[7] 517 events in 19 sports. 5-a-side football added to the program.[7] A cumulated global TV audience of 1.8 billion watch the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.[12] Over 3000 journalists covered the Games.[8]
2004	International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWSF) established with the merger of ISMWSF and ISOD.[4]
2005	Paralympic Awards are presented for the first time.[12]
2006	10–19 March – Torino Winter Paralympics – 477 athletes from 39 countries;[9] 58 events in 5 sports.A New Classification System for Winter Sports was used for the first time. Wheelchair curling made its Games debut.[9] IPC launched ParalympicSport.TV, an online TV channel, during the Games[12] and it attracted nearly 40,000 unique viewers from 105 nations.
2006	IPC's revenue exceeded EUR 5 million for the first time.[12]
2007	A newIPC Classification Code and International Standards approved at IPC General Assembly meeting held in November.[4][12]
2008	6–17 September – Beijing Summer Paralympics – 3,951 from 146 countries;[7] 472 events in 20 sports. Rowing was added to the program.[7] 3.8 billion people throughout the world viewed the Games on television and streaming.[7] and 3.4 million spectators attended the Games.[8]
2009	IPC General Assembly reinstated athletes with an intellectual disability into the Paralympic Games.[4]
2009	IPC Position Stand – Background and Scientific Principles of Classification in Paralympic Sport passed by IPC Sports Science Committee, Classification Committee and Governing Board in June.[4][12]
2010	12–21 March – Vancouver Winter Paralympics – 502 athletes from 44 countries;[9] 64 events in 5 sports. 230,000 ticket sales, a record for the Games.[9]
2012	29 August – 9 September – London Summer Paralympics – 4,237 athletes from 164 countries; 503 events in 20 sports. Athletes with an intellectual disability return to the Games by competing in athletics, swimming and table tennis.[7]
2012	IPC and IOC signed a new co-operation agreement which increased IOC financial support and guaranteed the Paralympics will be staged in the same city and venues as the Olympics until 2020.[12]
2012	IPC's revenue exceeded EUR 10 million for the first time.[12]
2012	IPC launched the Agitos Foundation.[12]
2014	7–16 March – Sochi Winter Paralympics – 541 athletes from 45 countries;[9] 72 events in 6 sports. 316,200 tickets were sold, the most ever for Paralympic Winter Games. Para snowboard added to the program.[9] 316,200 ticket sales, surpassing the record from Vancouver Games.[9]
2016	7–18 September – Rio de Janeiro Summer Paralympics. The first games in Latin America and South America Para canoe and Para triathlon added to the program. 30 November – IPC officially rebrands the 10 sports for which it serves as the international federation with the "World Para" mark. At the same time, IPC changes the names of three of these 10 sports:[13] Paralympic shooting becomes "shooting Para sport". Sledge hockey becomes "Para ice hockey". Wheelchair dance sport becomes "Para dance sport".
2017	Philip Craven was succeeded by the Brazilian Andrew Parsons as IPC President after serving four terms.
2018	9–18 March – PyeongChang Winter Paralympics – 569 athletes from 49 countries;[9] 80 events in 6 sports, Snowboarding has been expanded into a separate discipline for 2018, with 10 medal events (in 2014, two medal events in snowboarding were held within the alpine skiing programme). IOC and IPC, signed an agreement that renewed the partnership between the two institutions by Brisbane 2032.

Publications

Each year the IPC publishes its Annual Report and every four years its Strategic Plan following consultation with IPC members.

Across social media, the IPC maintains several accounts under the @Paralympics banner including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter.

Paralympic Hall of Fame

Main article: Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame

Until 2016, the IPC inducted former Para athletes into the Hall of Fame in recognition of their sporting achievements.

• 2006: Jouko Grip , Ulla Renvall , Annemie Schneider
• 2008: Connie Hansen , Claudia Hengst , Peter Homann , André Viger , Kevin McIntosh (coach)
• 2010: Tanja Kari , Chris Waddell , Rolf Hettich (coach)
• 2012: Louise Sauvage , Trischa Zorn-Hudson , Roberto Marson , Frank Ponta , Chris Holmes
• 2014: Jon Kreamelmeyer , Eric Villalon Fuentes , Verena Bentele
• 2016: Junichi Kawai , Chantal Petitclerc , Franz Nietlispach , Neroli Fairhall , Martin Morse ^[14]

Paralympic marketing

The Organizing Committees

See also: Template:OCOG/OCPG

In June 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that the staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games.^[15] The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games 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.^[15] 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)

Main article: National Paralympic Committee

NPCs are a national organisation recognised by the IPC as the sole representative of the Paralympic Movement in the NPC’s country or territory.

International Sports Federations (IFs)

See also: List of international sport federations § Federations recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

There are 17 international federations recognized by the IPC, and there are three disability specific organizations, while the IPC has served as the international federation for multiple sports.^[16][17]

As of January 2025, the IPC through the World Para Sports name manages the governances for five Para sports. They are Para athletics, Para ice hockey, Para powerlifting, Para swimming and shooting Para sport.

On 30 November 2016, to distinguish them from the Paralympic Games, the IPC adopted the new blanket branding World Para® Sports, with the Para sports rebranded accordingly. It also renamed three sports to align with this new name; Paralympic shooting was renamed to "shooting Para sport" (to reduce confusion with parachuting) and sledge hockey became "Para ice hockey" (for both branding and linguistic reasons). 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.^[13]

In December 2021 during its virtual General Assembly, the IPC voted on an aspirational mandate to transfer its international governance of Para sports to independent bodies by 2026, either by transferring them to an existing governing body, or spinning off subcommittees as independent federations. A governance review published in October 2019 found that the IPC's governance "created perceptions of conflict of interest, disparity in the application of resources, a sense of unfairness between the IPC Sports and those which are not and confusion about the IPC's role, all of which is impacting its reputation."^[18][19]

In July 2022, the IPC transferred governance of Para alpine skiing, Para snowboard, Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and International Biathlon Union (IBU) respectively.^[20] In June 2023 appointed the British Paralympic Association and UK Sport to assist in spinning off World Para Athletics and World Para Swimming as independent federations that would be based in Manchester.^[21] Para dance sport was transferred to World Abilitysport (formerly IWAS) in 2024.^[22]

World Para Athletics

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Athletics Championships, regional Championships and other competitions.

• Official website: WorldParaAthletics.org^{[permanent dead link]} (Paralympic.org/athletics)
• Sport name: Para athletics^[13]
• Former sport committee name: IPC Athletics^[13]

World Para Ice Hockey

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Ice Hockey Championships 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.^[13]

• Official website: WorldParaIceHockey.org^{[permanent dead link]} (Paralympic.org/ice-hockey)
• Sport name: Para ice hockey^[13]
• Former sport committee name: IPC Ice Sledge Hockey^[13]

World Para Powerlifting

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Powerlifting Championships and other competitions.

• Official website: WorldParaPowerlifting.org^{[permanent dead link]} (Paralympic.org/powerlifting)
• Sport name: Para powerlifting^[13]
• Former sport committee name: IPC Powerlifting^[13]

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.^[13]

• Official website: WorldShootingParaSport.org^{[permanent dead link]} (Paralympic.org/shooting)
• Sport name: Shooting Para sport^[13]
• Former sport committee name: IPC Shooting^[13]

World Para Swimming

Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Swimming Championships and other competitions.

• Official website: WorldParaSwimming.org^{[permanent dead link]} (Paralympic.org/swimming)
• Sport name: Para swimming^[13]
• Former sport committee name: IPC Swimming^[13]

Recognized Federations

The updated list of 15 International Federations recognized by the IPC in 2025 is as follows:^[23]

1. International Federation of Power Wheelchair Football (FIPFA)
2. International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF)
3. International Bowling Federation (IBF)
4. International Federation of CP Football (IFCP)
5. International Golf Federation (IGF)
6. International Handball Federation (IHF)
7. International Hockey Federation (FIH)
8. International Sambo Federation (FIAS)
9. International Surfing Federation (ISF)
10. Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM)
11. World Armwrestling Federation (WAF)
12. World Bowls (WB)
13. World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF)
14. World Karate Federation (WKF)
15. World Sailing (WS)

Worldwide Paralympic Partner programme

The worldwide Paralympic Partner sponsorship programme includes the following commercial sponsors of the Paralympic Games.

• ABInBev
• Airbnb
• Alibaba Group
• Allianz
• Coca Cola / Mengniu
• Deloitte
• OMEGA
• Ottobock
• P&G
• Samsung
• TCL
• Visa

See also

• Cheating at the Paralympic Games
• Disabled sports

Notes

1. IPC contains Asian Paralympic Committee (APC), African Paralympic Committee (ASCD), Americas Paralympic Committee (APC), European Paralympic Committee (EPC), Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC).