World Para Athletics education courses take place in Beijing, China

Beijing played host, not only to the World Para Athletics Grand Prix earlier this month, but also to two courses aimed at providing invaluable training for classifiers and technical officials ahead of a key period for Para athletics in Asia.

The level 2 classifier programme, funded by the German Foreign Office, was held from 7-9 May and included participants from China, India, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Iran and Kazakhstan.

The aim of the programme was to advance Para athletics and classification in Asia ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The programme included sessions on: World Para Athletics Classification rules and regulations, ethics and communication in classification and practice with volunteer athletes.

In all, four participants successfully completed the programme and are now able to serve as National Classifiers, upon appointment by their National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). The second programme – a level 4 technical officials programme - took place in Beijing from 10-15 May, with three participants successfully passing.

This is a high-level course, aimed at preparing participants to become International Technical Officials.

The programme not only included World Para Athletics rules and regulations but also practical training including roles during a competition.

David Weicker, a Canadian educator said: “The opportunity to have a competition immediately after classroom training was invaluable for both the participants and the instructors as we get to observe their work and we get to assess whether we are providing guidance in the most appropriate manner.”

Jana Lauren, a participant from Singapore said: “The programme gave a deep all-round experience of Para Athletics with a good mix of theory and practice. A friendly and fruitful international collaboration between participants and lecturers helped get a better understanding of World Para Athletics rules and regulations.”

April also saw a level two classifier programme take place in Tunis, Tunisia. Supported by the Agitos Foundation and the Tunisian NPC Development Programme, the course was implemented to help advance Para athletics and classification in north Africa. Ten participants from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Mauritius took part.

The next World Para Athletics Technical Officials Programme takes place in Berlin, Germany from 15-18 June, while the next World Para Athletics Classifier Programme will be held from 11-13 June in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

For more information on education courses please contact Jana Hasenberg, IPC Summer Sports Education Manager at jana.hasenberg@paralympic.org or +49 228 2097-167, or visit the World Para Athletics education website.