Nominees revealed for the Citi Volunteer Award at the PARA SPORT Awards 2023

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced the nominees who have been shortlisted for the Citi Volunteer Award at the 2023 PARA SPORT Awards.  

The award recognises someone who has given up their own time to support the Paralympic Movement, such as a volunteer, classifier, technical official, event support, or IPC member support.  

The winner will be decided by a vote in an online poll, which will open from 1-15 September. The shortlist for the Citi Volunteer Award is as follows: 

James Chiutsi (Malawi) 

James has been the President of the Malawi Paralympic Committee since 2018 and under his leadership Malawi has grown its number of Para athletes from 20 in 2019 to 300 in 2023.  

For James, 2022 was a year of firsts: a first Malawi athlete to secure the Minimum Qualification standard for a Paralympic Games; the first ever World Para Athletics sanctioned event for the African Union Sports Council Region 5; a first IPC regional training event in Malawi, with classification for visually impaired athletes; achieved 50/50 gender balance in its leadership team.  

James has also spearheaded the inclusion of Para sport and the IPC education initiative I’mPOSSIBLE in the Malawi school calendar. 

Rebecca Foulsham (New Zealand) 

Rebecca Foulsham has been involved in Para sport for over 25 years as a classifier. A physiotherapist by profession, with experience in neurology, general medicine, and rehabilitation, she became part of the Movement through her husband Gavin who is a Paralympian.

In 2022 Rebecca was appointed Head of Classification globally for World Para Athletics. From 1 Jan 2022 to 30 April 2023,  Rebecca engaged in ten international events in countries such as Mexico, Germany, Tunisia, Morocco and the UK. At a national level, she also showed great engagement in Para athletics and Para cycling events, where she mainly served as classifier. She attended events all over New Zealand including Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth. 

Tor Undheim (Norway) 

This is a posthumous nomination as Tor passed away in March 2022. Tor devoted himself to Para Nordic skiing and played a key role in the developments that have benefited the sport in recent years.  

These include his support for the development of the Para cross-country skiing relay that is strong element of the Paralympic Games and World Championship sport programme.  

Tor also played a crucial role in developing the current ranking mechanisms and results calculation applied in Para Nordic skiing, which has helped to greatly advance the sport.

About the 2023 PARA SPORT Awards

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The 2023 PARA SPORT Awards will be organised alongside the IPC General Assembly on 27 September 2023 in Bahrain. 

They will celebrate the terrific achievements of summer and winter sport athletes in one event, along with recognising the work of volunteers, coaches, and members of the IPC whose efforts have contributed to strengthening the impact of Para sports worldwide.

Ten categories will be awarded overall, seven of which will be awarded during the 2023 PARA SPORT Awards ceremony in Bahrain. The Citi Volunteer Award is the only award that has a public vote.