IPC Athletes' Committee:
Objectives - Philosophy - Activities
The Athletes' Committee met twice in 1999, once in Sydney and once in Salt Lake City.
In Sydney, considerable progress was made on the Sydney 2000 elections and an election
task force was formed. All athletes will have the opportunity in the Village in Sydney to
vote for their future Committee members who will serve from after the Games in Sydney
through to Athens 2004. All athletes with 'A' accreditation will have the opportunity to
vote over a period of five days at a polling station based beside the Dining Hall in the
Paralympic Village.
 After Sydney, the Committee met again as
part of the IPC General Assembly Meetings schedule in Salt Lake City. Many members were
able to stay and experience the General Assembly of Nations. Our two winter sports
representatives, Kjartan Haugen and Andreas Schiestl, had the opportunity to make site
visits to the competition venues in Nordic and Alpine events. Committee members from
various sports have been able to hold athletes' open meetings throughout sports specific
competitions in 1999. Notably, meetings were held at the Fespic Games in Thailand early in
the year (Lee Sheng Chow hosting), the European Swimming Championships in Germany (Paul
Noble hosting), the World Cup Skiing events (Kjartan Haugen hosting) and at the Pan
American Open Volleyball Championships (David McCrae hosting). Moreover we worked on the
creation of clear policy statements for the Athletes' Committee. A series of these will be
published in following editions of The Paralympian.
The future has never been brighter for athlete representation. Connections such as the
one to the IOC Athletes' Commission to which we are welcome at all future meetings show
this positive development. I look forward to contributing to The Paralympian in the
future, until the end of my term of office as Chair of the IPC Athletes' Committee at the
end of the Sydney Games in October 2000.
David McCrae
Chair, IPC Athletes Committee
The Athletes' Committee - A Portrait
The Athletes' Committee is a democratically elected standing committee of the IPC. Its
major objectives are to ensure that athletes' needs are represented, and that athletes are
full partners in decision-making. The members of the committee include six summer sport
representatives, and three winter sport representatives, each elected at Paralympic Summer
or Winter Games for a term of four years.
Objectives
In pursuing its major objectives, the Athletes' Committee aims to:
- increase communication with athletes,
- act as an athlete advisory body,
- improve awareness of athlete representation,
- actively promote athlete representation at all levels,
- be an active part of the decision-making process of IPC,
- support all efforts of IPC to further improve Paralympic Games.
Philosophy
The Athletes' Committee believes that all activities within the Paralympic movement
should:
- be fair and equitable,
- be athlete-centered and sport-focussed,
- be united,
- optimize athlete representation,
- maximize communication, particularly with athletes.
Activities
Over the past year, members of the Athletes' Committee have worked hard to strengthen
relationships with sections of IPC and other groups, in order to pursue its principle
goals.
Major objectives for the coming year include:
- increasing communication with athletes and athlete representatives,
- publication and dissemination of information pertaining to athlete issues,
- coordinating Athletes' Committee elections in Sydney,
- organizing an Athletes' Assembly in Sydney,
- strengthening the global athlete network.
Should you have any questions relating to the Athletes' Committee, or athlete
representation, please contact:
Mr. David McCrae,
c/o IPC Headquarters
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