Intellectually Disabled Athletes Welcomed by New IPC Chief
During his first visit to the headquarters office of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in Bonn, Germany, IPC President Phil Craven stressed the significance of the re-admittance of INAS-FID to the Paralympic Movement.
The suspension of INAS-FID, the world sports organization for athletes with an intellectual disability, from membership in the IPC was lifted by the IPC General Assembly in Athens, Greece, in December.
Since the suspension of INAS-FID in January 2001, the new leadership of INAS-FID has modified the procedures regarding the eligibility of athletes with an intellectual disability in order to ensure greater transparency and control. The effective development and application of these procedures will be monitored by the IPC. Only if the IPC is completely satisfied as to the effectiveness of these procedures, will intellectually disabled athletes be able to once more compete in IPC events.
On behalf of INAS-FID, its president, Jos Mulder, accepted these terms. The organization was thus immediately reinstated as a full member of the IPC. Mulder pointed out that in the future, INAS-FID would only allow athletes to compete, who were re-registered as truly intellectually disabled after the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.
In Sydney, athletes had competed in the INAS-FID basketball competition without being truly intellectually disabled. As a result, the IPC had suspended INAS-FID from membership and had not allowed athletes with an intellectual disability to compete in IPC events. 'We are confident that with proven and effective eligibility systems in place, cheating like in Sydney will never occur again. The IPC and the new INAS-FID leadership must ensure that only fair and impartial competition is allowed at the Paralympic Games,' said Craven.
The re-instatement of INAS-FID as a full member of the IPC is a signal of IPC's commitment to the new leadership of INAS-FID. The IPC believes in their capability to develop an eligibility verification system that allows all rules and procedures, which apply universally at Paralympic Games and IPC Championships, to be equally applicable to the participation of athletes with intellectual disabilities.
With regard to the forthcoming Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games and 2002 World Championships where the event programmes, schedules and standards have already been established and distributed, the inclusion of INAS-FID athletes will not be possible.
For further information please contact:
International Paralympic Committee
Phone: +49 (228) 209 7200
FAX: +49 (228) 209 7209
The suspension of INAS-FID, the world sports organization for athletes with an intellectual disability, from membership in the IPC was lifted by the IPC General Assembly in Athens, Greece, in December.
Since the suspension of INAS-FID in January 2001, the new leadership of INAS-FID has modified the procedures regarding the eligibility of athletes with an intellectual disability in order to ensure greater transparency and control. The effective development and application of these procedures will be monitored by the IPC. Only if the IPC is completely satisfied as to the effectiveness of these procedures, will intellectually disabled athletes be able to once more compete in IPC events.
On behalf of INAS-FID, its president, Jos Mulder, accepted these terms. The organization was thus immediately reinstated as a full member of the IPC. Mulder pointed out that in the future, INAS-FID would only allow athletes to compete, who were re-registered as truly intellectually disabled after the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.
In Sydney, athletes had competed in the INAS-FID basketball competition without being truly intellectually disabled. As a result, the IPC had suspended INAS-FID from membership and had not allowed athletes with an intellectual disability to compete in IPC events. 'We are confident that with proven and effective eligibility systems in place, cheating like in Sydney will never occur again. The IPC and the new INAS-FID leadership must ensure that only fair and impartial competition is allowed at the Paralympic Games,' said Craven.
The re-instatement of INAS-FID as a full member of the IPC is a signal of IPC's commitment to the new leadership of INAS-FID. The IPC believes in their capability to develop an eligibility verification system that allows all rules and procedures, which apply universally at Paralympic Games and IPC Championships, to be equally applicable to the participation of athletes with intellectual disabilities.
With regard to the forthcoming Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games and 2002 World Championships where the event programmes, schedules and standards have already been established and distributed, the inclusion of INAS-FID athletes will not be possible.
For further information please contact:
International Paralympic Committee
Phone: +49 (228) 209 7200
FAX: +49 (228) 209 7209