British Paralympic Association wins award

“We are an incredibly hard-working team and are constantly looking for innovative ways to support our sports and athletes in their preparation for the Games.”

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) has been named “International Paralympic Federation of the Year” in winning the Corporate Sports Creativity award for 2016, as part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.

The honour is given annually to “sports institutes which have achieved creative sports works and best initiatives.”

The BPA was recognised for its position as a world-leading National Paralympic Committee and particularly for the development of its Paralympic Preparation Advisory Group, which is an innovative project seeking to provide lasting strategic support to Paralympic sport in Great Britain, as well as improve athletes’ chances of medal success at the Paralympic Games.

The group brings together a well-established and respected multi-disciplinary expert team of individuals from the BPA, the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and Loughborough University.

It aims to ensure that the British Paralympic team is making use of and benefitting from any scientific developments and benefits from key contributions from clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, sleep consultants, nutritionists, and research and innovation specialists.

“I am very proud that the achievements of the BPA have been recognised with this prestigious global award,” said BPA Chief Executive Tim Hollingsworth.

“We are an incredibly hard-working team and are constantly looking for innovative ways to support our sports and athletes in their preparation for the Games.

“We have just returned from our most successful Paralympic Games ever in Rio, which demonstrated that our efforts to leave no stone unturned and ensure our team was best prepared have reaped rewards.

“The Paralympic Preparation Advisory Group is a significant part of that strategy and we believe it is one of the areas which demonstrates that we are world-leading as an NPC.”

The awards will be distributed at a ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 9 January 2017.