More than 300 Chinese athletes who will be competing at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games are finishing up their preparation this week at the China Disability Sports Training Centre. With 16 days to go until the Opening Ceremony in Beijing, the athletes are among the 547-member China delegation, the largest in history, competing in all 20 events at the Games.

The Ukrainian Paralympic Team was officially the first to arrive in the Chinese capital of Beijing late last week. The delegation of athletes and officials, which landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday, spent less than eight minutes clearing through customs. Beijing, as the host of the 2008 Paralympic Games, had opened a special passage and assigned 12 policemen to help facilitate the procedure.

For the first time during the Paralympic Games, a real-time blog with entries from the IPC President will be up and running for all those interested in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The IPC President’s Blog will be a daily look into the Games activities, but more specifically, into Sir Philip Craven’s day.

Shortly before the start of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the 2nd Singapore Boccia Invitational Open 2008 were recently held from 30 July to 2 August in Singapore at the Jurong East Sports Hall.

As the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games are only a few days away, more and more broadcasters are announcing their increased coverage and schedules for this year’s highlight. The Paralympics will be held from 6 to 17 September and are available for viewing all around the world.

Starting tomorrow, the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) will begin printing and selling tickets for events of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in designated Bank of China locations in Beijing and co-host cities.

Two recent contests, held in conjunction with Petro-Canada’s Paralympic School Programme “It’s the Real Deal”, gave the winners the chance to display and distribute their independently designed work at the Paralympic Games.

The details for the 17th International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) were officially announced earlier this month. The ISAPA 2009 conference will be held in Gaevle, Sweden, from 23 to 27 June. The event is organized by the Swedish Development Centre for Disability Sport (SUH).

The Canadian Paralympic Congress this year will be held on 17 October in Ottawa, Ontario, and will focus on will on how the community serving Canadians with a physical disability can better service them by building the future of sport.

Bonn, Germany - From 1 to 4 August, the 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) took place in Guangzhou, China.