Virtus congratulate France on winning 2030 WPG bid/call for inclusion
Virtus is encouraged by the announcement that the French Alps will host the XXVI Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2030. It represents a significant opportunity to advocate for the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual impairment in the Winter Paralympics.
The French Alps’ selection as the host adds momentum to Virtus’ efforts to ensure athletes have their rightful place on the podium, reinforcing the commitment to diversity and inclusion in sport.
In the IOC media announcement, Alpes Françaises 2030 state the event ‘aims to unite the north and south French Alps and make them a hub for winter sport, to bring maximum social and economic benefits to their communities.’
Additionally, the announcement states “It will be the first edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to fully integrate the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5, as well as new requirements on sustainability set by the IOC’s Olympic Host Contract” (read the IOC announcement in full here).
Calling for re-inclusion
Virtus is calling on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Ski and Snowboarding Federation (FIS) to take the necessary next steps to achieve re-inclusion for athletes with an intellectual impairment in time for the Games in 2030.
Athletes with an intellectual impairment previously had full medal status at the 1998 Nagano Winter Paralympic Games in Cross Country Skiing. Whilst a limited number of sports and events are on the summer Paralympic Games program, winter athletes are still waiting.
The Virtus campaign for the re-inclusion of athletes with intellectual impairments aligns with the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 by promoting inclusivity, equality, and diversity in sports. The agenda emphasises the importance of engaging with the wider community and ensuring all athletes have the opportunity to participate on the global stage, and this must include athletes with an intellectual impairment.
Virtus’s efforts support these principles – advocating for the recognition and inclusion of athletes with intellectual impairments in the Winter Paralympics, contributing to the broader goals of the Olympic Movement.
Background
The background to this began around 14 years ago when IPC, the classification research Centre in Leuven, and Virtus (then known as INAS) began work to develop a sports classification system for skiers with an intellectual impairment. Nordic skiing had long been identified (by IPC and others) as the sport that could be added to the Winter Paralympic Games, following re-inclusion in the Summer Games in 2012.
This collaborative approach was very successful and, in 2017, the IPC membership (at the General Assembly) voted to support a motion that mandated the IPC to increase the representation of athletes with an intellectual impairment in the Paralympic Games.
This appeared to be on track for the Winter Paralympic Games 2022 in Beijing, however due to the transfer of para-ski governance to FIS in 2022, re-inclusion was delayed, and again declined for re-inclusion in Milano Cortina 2026, with a further position that there would be no capacity to include athletes with an intellectual impairment for 2030.
This act of exclusion left Virtus in a position where, because the International Federation of the sport is unwilling to support, Virtus had to take stronger stance, bidding for the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual impairment. For the sake of the athletes and the development of inclusive sport, we cannot wait another 10 years for just the possibility of inclusion in WPG 2034.
Virtus and its membership are fighting for the right to see the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual impairment in the Winter Paralympics. We call on global support for inclusion and equity.
