Sydney Hosts Special Shooting Test Event

An unprecedented event occurred during November 3-11 1999 in Sydney. Both disabled and non-disabled athletes competed in the first Shooting test event for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The event, which was organized by the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committees, was the last official IPC sanctioned Paralympic Games qualifying event and the official Regional qualifier for the South Pacific Region (Oceanic). Over 20 nations were in attendance.

Mr. Dave Baskin, IPC Shooting Chairperson, was enthusiastic about this opportunity and looks forward to similar events in the future. He indicated: "The International Shooting Committee for the Disabled has  begun to evaluate solutions for changing the format of regional qualifying events in order to reduce the costs for regional organizers who host competitions, and to ideally make Shooting sports more accessible to all IPC member nations."

According to Mr. Baskin one of the major areas of concern regarding regional competitive development is the low number of Shooting classifiers worldwide. Understanding that many National Paralympic Committees have limited resources usually prioritized for training and competitions for athletes, IPC Shooting will continue to seek solutions to these challenges.

Handcycling: A New Discipline, A New Opportunity

The inclusion of "Handcycling" as a discipline was officially approved at the Extraordinary IPC Cycling Sports Assembly held in Blois, France in summer 1999. This decision will greatly increase opportunities for wheelchair users in cycle sports. "We will work closely together with the global Handcycling community to formulate appropriate technical regulations that will follow many of the traditional rules of cycling", says IPC Cycling Chairperson, Tony Yorke.

One of the tasks will be to determine "design standards" for competitive handcycles. Currently, the two primary competitive designs are handcycles with three wheels, which are the most common, and those with two. Much like traditional bicycles powered by legs, handcycles use similar gearing mechanisms and aerodynamic constraints. In the 1998 IPC Cycling World Championships held in Colorado Springs, USA, Handcycling was given full medal status. In order for the discipline to be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Summer Games it will need to be widely practiced in at least 24 countries and 3 regions.

Double Dutch Triumph at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters

The Masters was initiated to honour the top players who have shown dedication to and professionalism in the sport. Presently held in the Netherlands, the Masters has become the most coveted trophy amongst the top players. The tournament has been dominated by Dutch players since its inception in 1994. In 1999, eight of a possible 12 titles - including all six women's titles - have now been claimed by the Dutch.

The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, which features only the top eight men and women in the world, was an all-Dutch affair for the second year in a row, as Esther Vergeer and Robin Ammerlaan celebrated victory over one of the strongest fields in the history of the event in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) October 26-31 1999.