News

World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) is thrilled to announce a historic step toward gender equity in wheelchair rugby with the signing of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport’s Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration on March 4. This landmark commitment is accompanied by the launch of the Wheelchair Rugby Gender Equity Playbook—a game-changing strategy designed to drive female participation and leadership at every level of the sport.

The 2025 Virtus Athletics World Championships are set to take place in Brisbane, Australia, from 8–15 October 2025, marking a milestone event for elite athletes with an intellectual impairment. This international competition will bring together top athletes from around the world, providing them with an opportunity to showcase their talent, determination and excellence on a global stage. The event will attract veteran athletes, Paralympians and foster the development of emerging athletes who may have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in the youth competition.

Virtus, the international sports federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment, proudly announces the formation of the Virtus International Basketball Federation (VIBF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting basketball for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

The first World Curling event of 2025 gets underway this weekend as teams from across the world come to Stevenston, Scotland for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2025. The event will run from 1-8 March 2025.

This will be the last chance for teams to earn the final qualification points to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

A training camp for Paracanoe-Marathon paddlers is set to return after a successful first edition in 2024.  

Scheduled to be held between April 22 and 26, the French town of Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave will again serve as the host.  

A total of 12 French and Spanish athletes participated in the camp last year.  

The The International Canoe Federation’s Paracanoe Committee and Canoe Marathon Committee have been working together to develop the sport as this year will finally see Paracanoe make its debut at the Canoe Marathon World Championships. 

ITTF Development is thrilled to announce the launch of the 2025 ITTF Continental Youth Grants and the 2025 ITTF PTT Athlete Grant with increased support, two prestigious funding opportunities designed to bolster emerging table tennis talent and support athletes on their journey to excellence. These grants provide vital financial assistance to promising players across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania, empowering them to train, compete, and reach new heights on the international stage.

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) has announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at enhancing the expertise of coaches, referees, sports administrators, and local organizing committees in blind sports. Approved by the IBSA Executive Board, this initiative seeks to improve the overall quality of competitions and athlete preparation on a global scale.

The 2025 World Abilitysport Games due to be held from 11-21 September 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia have announced the first eight confirmed sports for the programme.

The Games that were awarded in September to the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia and the city of Jakarta will host an extensive sport programme in the facilities previously used for the 2018 Asian Para Games.

World Cups are due to be hosted in Para Fencing and Para Powerlifting alongside a Shooting Para Sport Grand Prix in the Senayan Shooting Range.

After Portugal 2022, the world’s top goalball athletes will head to China in 2026. Out of three bids, China was awarded the hosting rights by the IBSA Goalball Sport Committee.

This marks the first time the World Championships will be held in Asia. Although China was originally set to host the event in 2022, it had to be reassigned due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. The tournament will also be the first to take place outside Europe since 2006.

World Sailing has formally published its first ever Accessibility Guide to support and advise event organisers and venues in making proactive changes to encourage a fully inclusive sport at all levels. The guide outlines a series of reasonable adjustments that can be made to improve inclusivity which are adaptable based on the circumstances.

The Accessibility Guide draws from several existing documents to provide a comprehensive self-assessment tool covering a broad range of topics, including:

On 22nd November, by unanimous decision, the World Abilitysport Governing Board awarded the 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games to Pajulahti Olympic and Paralympic Training Centre in Finland.

The venue, which is the country’s Paralympic training centre and located in the picturesque Nastola in Lahti boasts facilities such as an ice rink, two football pitches, beach volley courts, six tennis courts and a climbing wall which impressed on the site visit.