IPC Sport Science Committee Sets Priorities

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Sport Science Committee met this week to explore its current agenda and the priorities for the next four years in Bad Honnef, Germany.

Priorities identified were to assist all sports in strengthening sport-specific and evidence-based classification systems, educational strategies for athletes and coaches, and to bring the agenda of developing countries on par with the research agenda of the Paralympic Movement. The continuous emphasis was given on how strategies can be enhanced to disseminate this and other knowledge.

The meeting in Bonn also reinforced the importance of continued interaction with other Committees, Councils and stakeholders in the Paralympic Movement in order to assure all relevant parties are informed. This was seen as a crucial element to being successful in the next four years.

IPC Medical and Scientific Director Dr. Peter Van de Vliet said the meeting was truly a successful gathering of the Committee this week.

“The IPC Sport Science Committee was a complete success with the exchange of information that occurred, and the current members expressed a word of thank you to the outgoing members for their engagement and contributions,” Dr. Van de Vliet said.

Additional topics discussed by the IPC Sport Science Committee include research proposals on important IPC topics to be considered for finding funding, IPC’s input toward 2012’s International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS), existing and further partnerships, an overview of progress reports on current projects, and an initiation of the plans for VISTA 2011, which will be held in Bonn from 31 August to 3 September 2011.

An evaluation of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games research was also undergone to prepare for the upcoming London 2012 Paralympic Games.