PARALYMPIC AND PARA SPORTS NEWS

Canadian children can draw their way into some great ‘Team Canada’ sporting clothing by designing a poster for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The creators of the top three posters in the national contest will not only win 2008 Team Canada merchandise and clothing, but will also have their posters hung in Petro-Canada stations across Canada and in the Canadian athletes' lounge at the Paralympic Village in Beijing, China.

From 13 to 17 February 2008, the 10th International Congress on Winter Sport Medicine took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Bonn, Germany – Yesterday, Dutch Wheelchair Tennis player Esther Vergeer was named Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the ninth Laureus World Sports Awards. The award was presented by Laureus World Sports Academy members Ilie Nastase and Marcel Desailly at a ceremony held at the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board is opposed to offering medal events at IPC sanctioned competitions that combine sports classes for athletes with a visual impairment and blind together with those of other sport classes in head-to-head competition.

Bonn, Germany - Today the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) re-launched its web TV channel ParalympicSport.TV.

Bonn, Germany - Last weekend, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board (GB) concluded its 49th official meeting in Bonn, Germany.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) welcomed six National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) into the Organizational Development Initiative (ODI) yesterday. There are now a total of 15 NPCs from four regions participating in the ODI. The new NPCs are from Azerbaijan, Cape Verde, Kenya, Rwanda, Tunisia and Uruguay. They joined the NPCs of Burundi, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Turkey and Zambia who joined in the first year of the initiative in 2007.

On the occasion of the annual International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Reception, Gudrun Doll-Tepper, the President of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), presented IPC President Sir Philip Craven with a copy of “Athlete First: A History of the Paralympic Movement”.

On the evening of 7 February, athletes, representatives from sport, the German government, partners, sponsors and media gathered for the annual International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Reception at the Headquarters of the Deutsche Telekom AG in Bonn, Germany.

Bonn, Germany – Today, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) proudly announced the launch of its Paralympian Ambassador Programme.

From 14 to 16 March 2008, the tenth edition of the International Bernd Best Wheelchair Rugby Tournament will take place in Cologne, Germany.

On 29 January, the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG) organized a workshop with sponsors of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.

Last week, a delegation from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lead by President Sir Philip Craven and CEO Xavier Gonzalez was in Beijing, China, to observe the Good Luck Wheelchair Basketball Invitational Tournament, as well as the Olympic Test Events of Weightlifting and Swimming, which will use the same venues during the Paralympics.

The Laureus World Sports Academy recently announced the five nominations for the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Category for the Laureus World Sports Awards 2008. Nominees are:

Today, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement with Atos Origin to become its Worldwide IT Partner.