Top six para-sport stories of the week

The last seven days around para-sport have seen the IPC publish their new anti-doping code, major moves in two winter sports and the first ever integrated table tennis championship announced.

Here are the top six stories of the week:

IPC publish their 2015 anti-doping code

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) published its 2015 Anti-Doping Code on Wednesday (29 October), which will apply to all Member organisations, Paralympic Games and IPC recognised International Federations, from 1 January 2015.

The new Code has been established in response to the release of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), due to come into force on the same date, and has been approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

As a condition of recognition by the IPC, Members within the Paralympic Movement, as Anti-Doping Organisations and as signatories to the WADC, must comply with the Code, and all Members shall have anti-doping rules consistent with and reflecting the provisions of the Code.

- More information on the IPC 2015 anti-doping code

Switzerland’s most successful para-athletes honoured

Switzerland’s most successful athletes of 2014 have been honoured for their achievements by Rene Will, President of the Board of Trustees and Veronika Roos, Secretary General of the Swiss Paralympic Committee, at a special ceremony on 24 October.

Christoph Kunz won Switzerland’s only gold medal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Russia, taking the men’s giant slalom sitting.

He was joined by athletics star Manuela Schaer, after she won four gold medals at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea, Great Britain, Heinz Frei, Jean-Marc Berset and Tobias Frankhauser (cycling), and Marcel Hug, Beat Bosch, Bojan Mitic, Philipp Handler, Patricia Keller, Patrick Stoll (athletics).

- More on the Swiss athletes honoured

Para-snowboard classes to be split

IPC Alpine Skiing announced on Monday (27 October) that the classification for lower-limb impaired snowboarders will be split into two sport classes.

There will now be one sport class for riders with a significant impairment in either one or both legs, for example an above the knee amputation, and one for the group with less activity limitation.

The changes are being introduced in time for the start of the 2014-15 season.

- More on the snowboard sport classes

IPC Athletics trains African classifiers

Ten people took part in an IPC Athletics National Classifier Programme in Windhoek, Namibia, from 24-26 October.

The programme was organised with support from the IPC's development arm , the Agitos Foundation, and the Norway Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports.

The training, hosted by the Namibian National Paralympic Committee (NPC), means that participants now have the skills they need to serve as a national classifier and develop more track and field athletes from Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, Angola, and Zimbabwe.

- More on the African classifiers

IPC Nordic Skiing announces new Sport Technical Committee

IPC Nordic Skiing confirmed on Thursday (29 October) the new membership of its Sport Technical Committee (STC), the group responsible for ensuring the continued growth and progress of the sport in the four years ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

The group of six members includes former athletes, classification and technical experts and will be led by Rob Walsh, who continues his role as Chairperson after the huge success of March's winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.

- More on the Nordic Skiing Sport Technical Committee

Australia to host first integrated table tennis championships

The 2015 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Oceania Cup and Para-Table Tennis Championships will be the first event to integrate able-bodied and para-table tennis in the history of ITTF.

The competition will be held in the City of Greater Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, between 10-12 April 2015 and will act as a qualifier for para-athletes for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

- More on the first integrated table tennis championship