Canadian Paralympian and Professor David Howe to receive IPC Scientific Award 2023

Canadian Professor David Howe PLY has been elected as the recipient of the IPC’s Paralympic Scientific Award 2023 and will receive the honour at the VISTA Conference in Cairo, Egypt, which runs from 31 October to 3 November 2023.

The award is given to an academic researcher for his or her contributions to research in the field of sports for persons with an impairment, and it serves to promote and encourage further study in this area.

Professor Howe, a four-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic medallist, is a medical anthropologist and holds the Dr. Frank J. Hayden Endowed Chair in Sport and Social Impact in the school of Kinesiology at Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.

Paralympic Scientific Award 2023

Howe’s research is the socio-cultural study of inclusive physical activity and disability sport and draws theories from Critical Disability Studies, sociology, philosophy and anthropology. His work attends to issues of inclusion, social justice, and sport, with a particular focus on unpacking how physical activity and sport cultures shape persons with disabilities embodied experiences and opportunities in disability sport.

He has been a driving force in advancing socio-cultural research in disability sport and the Paralympic Movement. As a medical anthropologist, Howe looks at sport as a cultural practice that has the potential to both reproduce and resist negative perceptions of disability and the marginalisation of persons with impairments. 

Speaking about winning the award, Professor Howe said, “Ever since I stepped on to the track in Seoul, Korea, in 1988 at my first Paralympic Games, I have been in awe with what the Paralympic Movement has been trying to achieve. 

“It is humbling to be nominated for this award by my scientific peers and having it bestowed upon me by the IPC.”

Howe competed in Para athletics for Canada at the Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. In Seoul he won bronze in the men’s cross country 5,000m C7, and silver at Barcelona in the men’s 5,000m C5>C8.

To be eligible for the award, candidates must have contributed through significant scientific publications related to the scientific study of sport for persons with an impairment in any discipline, have received national and/or international recognition for his or her work, and placed an emphasis on the practical application of research with direct or indirect benefit to the Paralympic Movement.

VISTA conference

VISTA is a scientific conference designed to promote and advance the mission, goals, objectives, and reputation of the IPC. VISTA 2023 will celebrate its 30th anniversary with the theme of “Developing Para Sport: inclusion, transformation, and performance”.

The theme will be discussed in keynote presentations, invited symposia, and free communications. They will cover key issues such as Classification, Ethics and integrity, socio-cultural development, sport medicine, health and well-being, sport performance, and technology.

VISTA provides an important international platform for scientists to exchange the latest current information, research, development, and expertise related to sport for persons with disabilities and the Paralympic Movement. 

Registration for the VISTA 2023 Conference remains open. The standard registration fee is EUR 450 and the student fee is EUR 200. Those interested in attending can register at Vista 2023.