Classification at Competitions Must Be Reduced

From time to time issues of particular importance to athletes emerge. Over the past months, one issue on which much progress has been made is classification. The Athletes' Committee feels that classification is an important process for Paralympic athletes, and would like to share the following with the Paralympic family:

Classification is an important part of Paralympic sport, and we believe that the process of classification should be respectful to the training and commitment of athletes to their sports. Classification should provide minimal distraction to athletes during their final preparation for competition.

The Athletes' Committee looks forward to the day when classification is no longer necessary immediately prior to the Paralympic Games or other major competitions, except in particular cases to ensure the fairness of the competition.

The Athletes' Committee is particularly supportive of all cooperative initiatives to reduce quantity of classifications that occur at Paralympic Games.

The strategy in place for Sydney to ensure that the majority of classification occurs prior to the Games therefore receives the support of the Athletes' Committee. It is our hope that everyone involved in the preparation for future Paralympic Games will create and take advantage of opportunities to obtain clear and accurate classification for athletes prior to competition.

IPC Athletes Committee

IPC: A Plural Organization?

The Constitution of the International Paralympic Committee guarantees the plurality of representation regarding the different constituents of our organization in several of its articles, for instance: "It is the aim of the IPC that its membership consists primarily of one national coordinating or National Paralympic Committee or umbrella organization from each country".

According to the constitution, full members are

1. The international organization of sports for disabled athletes, CP-ISRA, IBSA, INAS-FID, ISMWSF and ISOD.
2. A National Paralympic Committee comprising all national organizations/federations for the disability groups covered by IPC.

A further development of this article gives the chance to all countries in the world to be represented before the IPC, regardless of their not having a fully settled structure like the above mentioned, that is, all national organizations/federations for disability groups.

Furthermore, our Constitution once more establishes the plural nature of the IPC, when in article VI.1.3 it specifically outlines, who is entitled to vote at the General Assembly:

1. each full member shall have one (1) vote.
2. each Paralympic Sport and each non-Paralympic IPC championship sport as represented shall have one (1) vote.

Now, we can verify that the concept of plurality we refer to, is remarkably reinforced by giving voting rights at the IPC General Assemblies to the sports, which is a plural and heterogeneous group in itself.

In this overall concept of plurality we find the paradox that, although such plurality is guaranteed from the legal point of view by our statutes, it is only theoretical in reality. If we analyze the actual representation at the last General Assembly in Salt Lake City, we find that the following were entitled to vote:
46 countries, 5 IOSDs and 19 sports. The geographical distribution of the 46 countries was:

These data makes me, as Secretary General of the IPC, hesitate about the real plurality of our organization, and make me reflect about the reasons for such a situation to occur.

First of all, it has to be acknowledged that the economic issue plays a relevant role in the "absenteeism" of many countries. A possible solution for this problem, in which I strongly believe, would be that at least one of the two Assemblies called every four years, would coincide with the Summer Paralympic Games, since in such events most countries happen to attend.

There is, from my point of view, another problem far less obvious than the economic one, but that I think has a bearing on the scarce participation of our countries. I refer to the fact that we, the IPC, have not been able to transmit the point to these countries that their presence and their opinion at the General Assemblies of our organization are both important and necessary. For the future of the IPC, it is required that we consolidate and strengthen the Paralympic spirit in the whole world. Because we, as the IPC, can learn from those countries who have serious difficulties in developing their tasks and who often make up for their lack of money with imagination and great personal effort as well.

If we proceed to analyze the Executive Committee structure, we have to quote article VI.2:

The Executive Committee shall consist of:

1. The office bearers, viz.
   • One (1) President,
   • three (3) Vice Presidents,
   • one (1) Secretary General,
   • one (1) Treasurer,
   • one (1) Medical Officer and
   • one (1) Technical Officer.
2. One (1) representative elected by each of the six regions.
3. One (1) representative elected by the athletes.
4. One (1) representative, appointed by each of the IOSDs, in full membership of IPC.
5. A Summer Sports Representative elected by the Sports Council.
6. A Winter Sports Representative elected by the Sports Council.

This structure verifies the extremely plural nature of the IPC, and how its various sectors are indeed represented. From my point of view, we should not loose this plurality, since it is very important that all the different strata from the IPC can articulate their opinions and contribute with their concerns. Through that plurality and due to its close links to the Management Committee, one of the Executive Committee's main tasks is to achieve a strengthened organization. In order for this process to take place, it is absolutely required to find points of agreement in order to reach the necessary consensus. By doing so, we shall get a stronger and a more cohesive IPC.

I hope that these personal concerns serve to initiate a process of reflection, and that at the end, the plurality of our organization will turn out remarkably strengthened.

Miguel Sagarra
IPC Secretary General