News

A course designed to increase the number of national classifiers who can work with visually impaired (VI) athletes is being delivered throughout May by the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) and the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).

Over 20 ophthalmologists and optometrists from across the region will take part in the online course which consists of four online theory sessions after which, subject to successfully completing a test, they will receive a certificate to show that they have completed part one of the course.

The IWRF is delighted to announce that the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby European Championship Division A has been awarded to France.

The European Championship will take place in Paris, 21st - 27th of February at a prestigious Parisian Sport Venue.

The European Championship Local Organising Committee is composed of members from CAPSAAA Paris Wheelchair Rugby Club, the Fédération Française Handisport and the Wheelchair Rugby French Commission.

 IWRF President Richard Allcroft said,

Top-level international para-cycling competition kick starts into action on 6-9 May with the opening round of the 2021 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend, Belgium. Another round in Marostica / Bassano del Grappa (Italy) will follow at a date to be announced. 

The 2021 European Championships for both Men and Women is set to take place in Madrid, Spain between the 2 – 13 December 2021.

IWBF Europe have announced that they have awarded hosting rights of the Men’s and Women’s European Championships División A to Federación Española de Deportes de Personas con Discapacidad Física (FEDDF).

British Wheelchair Basketball has today announced the creation of the inaugural Women’s Premier League. The British Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Premier League will be the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball in the world, and the very first professional para-sport league in the UK.

The pool composition for the Sitting Volleyball Men’s Final Qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been confirmed. The seven qualified teams have been split into two pools of three and four teams, respectively. Pool A’s three teams include 

• Germany
• Kazakhstan
• Canada,

while Pool B consists of

• Ukraine
• the United States
• Latvia
• Croatia.

Men’s Final Paralympic Qualifier will be held from June 1 to 5 in Duisburg, Germany.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced the Para Badminton Tournament Calendar for 2021.

The Spanish Para Badminton International to be staged in May 2021 will serve as the last qualification tournament for the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Dates Tournament City

29 Mar–4 Apr 3rd Fazza–Dubai Para Badminton International Dubai

10–16 May Spanish Para Badminton International Cartagena

21-27 Jun Irish Para Badminton International Dublin

1-5 Sept Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Tokyo

The International Tennis Federation has announced that wheelchair tennis’ longest standing sponsor, NEC, will continue as title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and as an international sponsor of several UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour events for a further three years, from 2021 to 2023.

WBF are delighted to welcome Ethiopia, the Republic of Rwanda, Liberia, and Malta as new members to the federation.

Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Liberia become the newest additions to the IWBF Africa Zone, whilst Malta becomes the latest member of the European Zone.

IWBF President, Ulf Mehrens, said:

Following the rescheduling of the blind football calendar until the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, the IBSA Football Committee has now initiated the process to secure hosts for its regional championships next year.

The committee is keen to have hosts for all its events in place well in advance of the tournaments to give teams time to prepare.

World ParaVolley returns to action this year with exciting tournaments to look forward to, including the much-anticipated Paralympic Games.

Before the Summer Games, we complete the Tokyo 2020 men’s cast with the Sitting Volleyball Men’s Final Paralympic Qualification Tournament from June 1 to 5 in Duisburg, Germany.