Athlete with an intellectual impairment Set To Make Debut at Oristano Para Dance Sport World Cup

World Para Dance Sport in conjunction with World Abilitysport, has confirmed that dancers with vision and intellectual impairments will make their debut at the 2025 Para Dance Sport World Cup in Oristano, Italy, from 5-7 September in ‘Promotional Competitions’.

A class for powerchair dancers, which has been in development over the last year, will also feature in the Sardinian venue. World Para Dance Sport, governed by World Abilitysport, aims to make the sport more inclusive and make dance available to as many people with disabilities as possible.

A crucial step towards this, working in close collaboration with the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and Virtus, the international sports federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment, is to offer competition opportunities to begin to evaluate the demand and assess what work needs to be done in key areas such as classification and rules and regulations.

Charmaine Hooper, World Abilitysport’s Chief Executive Officer, said,

“The research into new impairment groups is incredibly important and exciting as we aim to expand the reach and impact of Para dance around the world.”

“Since the transfer of governance of World Para Dance Sport at the beginning of 2024, we have been looking carefully at all aspects of the sport and what we can do to drive its development.  We believe that expanding into new areas, with the help and support of other International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled in IBSA and Virtus, and Local Organising Committees, will allow us to do just that.

“The response from the community in entering their athletes to Oristano 2025 is encouraging – it is a great opportunity for them to take the lead nationally in developing new athletes. We are excited to lead this new era.”

The Oristano 2025 Para Dance Sport World Cup will take place from 5-7 September.

This is fantastic news! I’m confident we’ll see many athletes with intellectual impairments showcasing their talent in this elegant and stylish sport. Their passion for dance is undeniable, and providing them the opportunity to compete professionally will be a truly inspiring step forward,” said Marc Truffaut, President of Virtus.

The same existing judging criteria, assessing dancer’s abilities to interpret music with precision as well as musicality, timing, posture, technique and other elements will be applied to all dancers in all categories.

The combi Latin, standard and freestyle is open for entries from dancers with vision impairments, with a sighted partner. Athletes with intellectual impairments can compete in single and duo freestyle.