The IPC Governing Board concludes three days of meetings in Bonn

The IPC Governing Board concluded three days of meetings in Bonn, Germany, on Sunday (29 January) after covering a range of subjects, including the IPC’s diversity and inclusion policy, IPC membership, regional growth and the ongoing suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC).

Regarding the suspension, the Board was updated on the progress of the RPC in meeting its Reinstatement Criteria. Andy Parkinson, Chair of the IPC Taskforce, highlighted that the Taskforce had met twice since it was established in December 2016. At the Taskforce’s last meeting in January, it was updated on a productive meeting the IPC had held with the RPC in late December.

Sir Philip Craven, IPC President, said: “The IPC Governing Board was encouraged by the co-operation witnessed so far between the IPC Taskforce and the Russian Paralympic Committee and we sincerely hope this continues in the future.

“The next steps are for the IPC Taskforce and the RPC to finalise and agree on a roadmap for how the Reinstatement Criteria will be met and for the IPC Taskforce to provide feedback on the composition of the RPC’s Co-ordination Commission.

“Although things are moving in the right direction, meeting the Reinstatement Criteria is not a tick box exercise. As part of this process we need to see the significant practical and cultural changes that are required in order for the RPC to fulfil its IPC membership obligations in full.

“We look forward to receiving a further update from the IPC Taskforce at our next meeting in May.”

On Sunday, the IPC Governing Board unanimously turned down a request from the RPC for it to enter athletes into upcoming qualification events for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games while it remains suspended.

Earlier during the weekend, the IPC Governing Board approved the IPC’s Diversity Policy, granted provisional membership to the National Paralympic Committee of Grenada and extended the status of Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).

For the first time the Board granted recognised international federation status to the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), whilst both World Sailing and the International Federation of CP Football had their IPC memberships transitioned to recognised international federation status as the sports are no longer on the Paralympic Games programme.

The Board also approved a new IPC Policy on Non-Accidental Violence and Abuse which aims to further protect the interests of all Para athletes within the Paralympic Movement.

With September’s IPC General Assembly fast approaching, the Board approved the nomination forms and process for the Governing Board elections and agreed on a candidate vetting process.

The IPC Governing Board was updated on the progress of the IPC regions, the status of the IPC summer sport Strategic Plans, the Paralympic Movement’s commercial partnership with Toyota, the expected financial results for 2016 and Paralympic brand research that had been conducted by Nielson.

Barcelona, Spain, will host the next IPC Governing Board meeting between 19 and 21 May.