SIVUS India and Virtus Asia to organise webinar on athlete eligibility

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SIVUS INDIA with VIRTUS ASIA is organising a webinar on eligibility for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

The aim and objective of the webinar is to highlight, create awareness and educate about the importance and procedure of eligibility in Virtus and parasport and will feature presentations by Virtus Head of Eligibility, Prof. Jan Burns MBE.

Eligibility is a critical component of the classification process and the webinar will help and guide athletes, parents, special educators, coaches and professionals to understand the process.

It takes place over two days – 17th and 18th March from 2:30pm to 5:30pm IST (GMT +5:30)

Day 1: 17th March- Parents, Siblings, Volunteers kindly register for Day one.

Day 2: 18th March- Professionals (Psychologists, Special Educators, Coaches)

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS-

  1. Virtus Head of Eligibility- Prof. Jan Burns
  2. CEO of SIVUS India- Mr. Aaron Benjamin

Link for Registration – www.sivusindia.org/#webinar

*Note- If a parent is also a special educator/psychologist/coach, they can register for Day two as well.

The webinar is open to all for registration.

If you have any questions, kindly write to [email protected] before the 18th of March, 2022 and they will address the questions in the webinar.

Sport Inclusion Australia joins forces with the Brisbane City Council and the Australian government to deliver 2022 Virtus Oceania-Asia Games

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Virtus Australian member- Sport Inclusion Australia (SIA) has signed a partnership with Brisbane City Council  to deliver the 2022 Virtus Oceania-Asia Games, which will build a legacy of inclusivity, diversity and accessibility in the world of sport and in the host city, Brisbane. In addition, SIA has also successfully secured funding from the Australian Government. Previously, the Brisbane City Council and the Australian government supported the 2019 Virtus Global Games in Brisbane- the world’s largest sporting event for elite athletes with intellectual impairment, and continues to demonstrate the same support and commitment to the delivery of 2022 Virtus OA Games.

“I am confident that the partnership between Council and Sport Inclusion Australia will lead to positive outcomes for both organisations and more importantly, bring together our city and community in the spirit of sport for all.” – Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.

Earlier in February, the Australian Minister of Sport- Richard Colbeck announced Government investment of almost $2 million, which will aid Sport Inclusion Australia to host upto 1000 international athletes and officials at the upcoming Virtus Oceania/Asia Regional Games in less than 8 months from now.

Senator Richard Colbeck said, “OA Games 2022 will build on the success of GG2019 Brisbane Games and raise awareness of inclusive sport to a new level, with a clear focus on engagement and participation of our Pacific neighbours, as we head to the 2032 summer Paralympics in Brisbane.”  

“Australia keeps attracting major sporting events because of our well-justified reputation as an excellent host of world class international sporting competitions. The OA Games 2022 is a great addition to the huge line-up of major competitions ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games”. Minister Colbeck said.

At a time when sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment is losing funding in many nations due to the consequences of the global pandemic, this is an historical achievement for Virtus member Sport Inclusion Australia and testament to the fantastic example of how government,  NGOs,  and sport  can work together to create opportunity for people with an intellectual impairments and to showcase their talent. 

Virtus Vice-President and CEO of SIA- Robyn Smith expressed how the Games marks an important opportunity to showcase the abilities of those who live with an intellectual impairment. 

“With an estimated 2 to 3 percent of the world’s population having an intellectual impairment, the OA Games highlights the immense ability of the athletes and the power of sport to change attitudes, challenge perceptions, and strengthen communities locally and globally” Ms Smith said.

 

The 2022 Virtus OA Games are all set to be staged in Brisbane from 5-11 November. Around 1000 participants from over 25 nations across the Asia and the Pacific region are expected to participate in the inaugural Regional Games.  OA Games is a multi-sport event including international sanctioning and classification for athletics, swimming, table tennis, leading to the Vichy 2023 Global Games and the summer Paralympic Paris 2024. In addition, it will also host the World Para Sailing Championship for the first time.

Find out more about OAGames Facebook page  and Sport Inclusion Australia here.

AAU to support Taekwondo players representing USA at the upcoming 2022 Virtus Americas Games

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Virtus USA member organization- Athletes Without Limit (AWL) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) announced a partnership to support the qualified Taekwondo athletes representing team USA at the upcoming 2022 Virtus Americas Games. The games are scheduled to be held at Sao Paulo, Brazil from 18th to 23rd September where hundreds of best elites will be competing across six sports- Taekwondo, Athletics/Track, Basketball, Futsal, Table Tennis, and Swimming at the Americas Regional Games.

“AAU Taekwondo is excited about our partnership with Athletes Without Limits and Virtus! As the only organization committed to growth at the grassroots level, we are honored to be chosen to host the team trialsand offer new opportunities to these amazing athletes.” said Bobby Stone, AAU National Sports Chair for Taekwondo.

AAU will be sponsoring up to twelve Para Poomsae athletes in both male and female categories in each age group (Under 30 and Over 30) across all three categories, i.e., II1 – Intellectual Impairment; II2 – Down Syndrome; II3 – Autism.

The selection will be done during the AAU National Championship in Las Vegas, from 3rd to 9th July. In addition, AAU has also committed to fund coaching or staff position.

“This is a substantial investment by the AAU in building the best Taekwondo team in the world. By supporting players with intellectual disabilities across all genders, classes and age groups equally, the AAU is putting the USA in a position to build deep teams and ensure all deserving athletes have the opportunity and support to represent the USA at the highest levels” says Barry Holman, AWL President.

Interested Taekwondo players from USA should visit the Athletes Without Limits website for more information.

Read full article here.

Italy to host First Beach Soccer tournament for athletes with intellectual impairments

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© Beach Soccer Department of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti

The Beach Soccer Department of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti will be hosting the first ever beach soccer for athletes with intellectual impairments and Down Syndrome. The event will commence from 5th to 8th May in Lignano Sabbiadoro.

Italian Virtus member-  FISDIR (Federazione Italiana Sport Paralimpici degli Intellettivo Relazionali) in collaboration with Lega Nazionale Dilettanti Beach soccer department will be organizing the event.

Roberto Desini from Beach Soccer Department of Lega Nazionale Dilettanti showed his full support this tournament and emphasized on the importance of such initiative to build an inclusive society.

“The social responsibility and inclusion are some of the pillars of our mission, and beach soccer, thanks to its integrating dimension, cannot be an outsider to these kind of initiatives around athletes with disabilities”, he said.

Trofeo Beach Soccer- Categoria C21 is recognized with ASD Sports21 Italia and have revised their rules to be more inclusive for this particular group. 

Interested teams from Italy may contact FISDIR for more details.

Erasmus+ funding for IDEAL 2.0 project awarded to Virtus

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We are delighted to announce that Virtus has been awarded the Erasmus+ Sport funding for the IDEAL 2.0 project. The grant has been secured for the next three years. This is the second time for Virtus to be partner in the award-winning consortium. Earlier, Virtus had received the Erasmus+ grant in 2017 and was one of the proud partners in the successful IDEAL project. The resources for coaches generated through that project have contributed to the launch of Virtus Academy, which is a global hub for research, training, and education of elite ID-sport. 

Building upon the outcomes of the first IDEAL project, and considering the COVID-19 situation, a new consortium was built to address the needs and priorities in the field of Inclusive and Equitable sport. The IDEAL 2.0 will be coordinated by KU Leuven in Belgium, in collaboration with four other research institutions (Miguel Hernandez University of Elche in Spain, Reykjavik University in Iceland, Jozef Piludski University of Physical Education of Warsaw in Poland, and Dublin City University in Ireland). 

IDEAL 2.0 stands for “Inclusive and Equitable sport for people with Intellectual disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)”. IDEAL stands for: 

Include (create awareness within society about Inclusivity in sport),  

Develop (translate Evidence-based practices successfully to sport professionals), 

Educate (teach coaches and support staff on how to organize adapted sport training), 

Activate (address the relevant social-determinants of inactivity) and 

Lead (foster leadership and personal development skills of our athletes)

Virtus’ role in the project is to contribute to the development of coaching resources and raising awareness about the high-level achievements of athletes with ID. Virtus is in a unique position being able to connect with athletes and coaches worldwide, as the world intellectual impairment sport organisation.  

Dr. Debbie Van Biesen, Virtus Academy Manager says, “IDEAL 2.0 is a groundbreaking and innovative project. With Virtus involved as one of the partners in this ambitious project, all Virtus members, athletes and coaches will benefit from exposure to evidence-based examples of good practice. Virtus will contribute to create a future sport policy promoting sport in a fully inclusive and equitable way.”  Dr. Debbie is also working as a Post Doctoral researcher at KU Leuven, who will be working actively in the IDEAL 2.0 project.

Being active is a public health priority focus, but having ID and/or ASD is related to lower PA levels, increased sedentariness, and an associated increased risk of health problems (e.g., diabetes, obesity), and low physical fitness. In addition, in many countries, majority of young people with intellectual disability (ID) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have fewer opportunities to become physically active or to access sport which is a harsh reality. Moreover, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has caused further restriction to the PA routines of the marginalized population of youth with ID/ASD, exacerbating the physical and mental disparities they experience. 

The IDEAL project is going to instigate the changes in the society towards a more inclusive world, especially those with intellectual impairments and/or autism. The overall goal of the IDEAL 2.0 project is to facilitate equitable and inclusive access to sport and PA for young people with ID/ASD. In an IDEAL world, everyone has the right to participate on an equal basis with others in society, including in physical activity (PA) and sport.   

 

 

Virtus Sport Council meet to discuss 2022 programme

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After 2 years of disrupted events due to Covid-19 pandemic, Virtus is looking forward to a busy events calendar in 2022 with important World Championships and Regional Games scheduled.   

 This week, the Virtus Sports Directors and Regional Virtus Organisations who form its Sports Council came together online to receive updates across a number of topics including competition planning, doping control protocols, and progress in the roll-out of new eligiblity categories II2 and II3.   

 The event program begins in June with the Virtus World Football Championships in France where the world’s top-8 ranked teams will compete for the World Cup title and this is followed in July by the 2022 European Games which will be taking place in Cracow, Poland. Virtus polish member Sprawni-Razem will be hosting the event from 16th to 24th July and is the second edition of event.  

 In September, the inaugural 2022 Americas Games which will be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil, hosted by CBDI – Confederação Brasileira de Desportos para Deficientes Intelectuais (Brazilian Confederation of Sports for the Intellectual Disabled). The event will commence from 18th to 23rd September in the Brazilian Paralympic Training Centre.  

 The final Regional Games will be the 2022 Oceania-Asia Games which will be held in Brisbane, Australia from 5th to 12th November. Sport Inclusion Australia will be staging the event.  

 The Regional Games are a key qualification event to the 2023 Global Games – the world’s largest event for elite athletes with an intellectual impairment – which take place in Vichy, France.  

Virtus Vice President Robyn Smith elected to IPC Governing Board

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Virtus Vice President Robyn Smith has been elected at the IPC Annual General Assembly, as one of ten IPC Governing Board Member at Large representatives.

The Virtus Governing Board has congratulated Ms. Robyn Smith on this outstanding achievement. Her election continues in the footsteps of Virtus (formerly INAS-FID) founding executive Marie Little OAM who served as the first female Member of the International Paralympic Committee’s Executive Board, from 1993 to 1997.

On behalf of the Virtus Member network across all five regions representing over 80 countries serving more than half a million people, this position on the IPC Governing Board is a positive outcome for the para-sport movement, for athletes with intellectual impairment, and for Virtus.

Virtus President Marc Truffaut said nominating Robyn was something the whole Virtus Board was supportive of and to have a successful outcome is wonderful.

“Congratulations Robyn, your work hard for Virtus and on this campaign, your achievements make us all very proud,” Mr. Truffaut said.

The Governing Board is elected by the IPC membership every four years at the IPC General Assembly and is responsible for setting the policies and for ensuring that the directions set by the membership at the General Assembly are implemented.

Virtus Secretary-General Barry Holman, who was online for the virtual AGM and voting said it was a close race with Ms. Smith only narrowly missing going through in the first round and garnered the six most votes in a field of 23 highly qualified candidates.

“I witnessed the dedication and effort Robyn put into making the most of this nomination and she truly deserves this seat on the IPC Governing Board,” Mr. Holman said.

“Robyn has always been on a path to find ways to make the world inclusive for people with disability, and now she has the strength of the Paralympic Movement to drive equality.”

Robyn Smith ran a campaign with the slogan #EveryoneIncluded – a call to action that more needs to be done for people with disabilities, and those who are underrepresented or come from marginalised regions, to be included in sports.

“In 2017, I was nominated by Virtus and at that time, it was such an honour to be amongst people in the para-sport movement, that although I didn’t make it, it helped solidify the drive towards better relationships with the IPC and the broader para-sport community,” Ms. Smith said.

“Four years on, there was a global pandemic and a world where more people are aware there is a need to change perceptions and challenge the attitudes towards people with disability being included.”

“I am so honoured to be elected as one of the 12 amazing champions of Para-sport, under the guidance of President Andrew Parsons and Vice President Duane Kale, we will be Stronger Together.”

“Through my campaign, it was not just about what I want to bring to the movement, it was about listening to nations and understanding their needs so that I can be a voice for the collective.”

“Thank you to the Paralympic Movement voting members, for giving me this opportunity to represent all of us.”

“Thank you to Paralympics Australia President Jock O’Callaghan and Paul Bird OAM, Oceania Paralympic Committee President and Paralympic Order recipient, for their unwavering support during the campaign.”

“There was also a team of people who helped me during the campaign. Your support, advice and drive, made this moment possible.”

Virtus would like to congratulate all the nominees of these elections and wish the very best to President Andrew Parsons, Vice President Duane Kale, and the ten Members at Large.

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It’s a GOLD for Abdul Latif Romly (MAS)

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Day 11: Men’s F20 Long Jump finishes Games campaign for athletes with Intellectual Impairment.

By Mousumi Mazumdar

After 11 days of non-stop actions, the events for athletes with an Intellectual Impairment at Tokyo 2020 concluded with the F20 Men’s Long-Jump today.

The rain was stronger than the preceding days at Tokyo Olympic Stadium, making it difficult for the athletes to perform. However, World Champions never give up, which was proved by the Malaysian jumper Abdul Latif Romly.

The Second time Paralympian successfully defended his World and Paralympic title in the long jump pit despite suffering from an injury during the competition. He recorded his season-best with 7.45m and was very emotional during the Medal Ceremony.

“This medal is for my family who I haven’t met in the past 9 months,” Abdul said.

“I slipped on the board while taking the jump and injured my groin muscles and couldn’t finish my competition. I am sad that I couldn’t break my World Record,” he said. The medical team is still monitoring the athlete’s injury and (at the time of this article) had not decided yet whether to admit the athlete to the hospital.

Athanasios Prodromou from Greece made a terrific debut at the games and seized his first medal, a Silver by covering a distance of 7.17m. It was also his Personal Best. Meanwhile, participating in his second Paralympic Games, Australian Nicholas Hum won his first medal tonight also.

Nicholas stated, “It’s an incredible feeling!”

“I have been working on a lot of aspects of my jump – mental, technical, lifting, diet, etc. Fortunately, Melbourne was not under complete lockdown so I could train,” he said.

Interestingly, the athlete used to play Basketball and was a part of the Australian Basketball team at the Global Games 2011 in Italy. He reflected upon how it was a wrong sport for him.

“I played basketball for a while, played athletics, and went back to basketball and realized it was a dumb decision and came back to Athletics,” said Nicholas.

His father was also a former state-level champion and serves as an inspiration to the athlete. The athlete recently became a dad and had a little baby girl on 30th August, whom he cannot wait to see. Hum also confirmed that he will stick to Athletics (Long-jump) at the upcoming Virtus Global Games 2023 in Vichy, France.

Virtus congratulates all the athletes for showcasing their spectacular performances. You inspire us all and we have been cheering you on from every corner of the world!

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will be officially closed tomorrow at 8:00 pm Japan time.

Photo credit: Reuters

GOLD Medal dedicated to Grandad

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Day-10 (Part-2): Title reclaimed after 9 years by Karolina Kucharczyk (POL)

By Mousumi Mazumdar

The women’s Athletics concluded tonight with F20 Long Jump. The rain from this morning continued its downpour and made athletes uncomfortable on the pit, but they came, jumping out with flying colors.

Two old rivals- Mikela Ristoski from Croatia and Karolina Kucharczyk from Poland came face-to-face again for the third time at a Paralympic Games. The veteran Polish jumper, going on to reclaim her title in Long-jump after 9 years. The Rio gold medalist from Croatia lost her title by just 0.57m and settled for Bronze.

Karoline Kucharczyk today, broke her own Paralympic record twice and set a new record of 6.03m. She has had an emotional journey since Rio 2016, when she won silver, and she made a vow to her grandad to bring home the Gold from Tokyo.

Karolina told Virtus, “I am very happy today because when I won silver in Rio, I was six weeks pregnant and could not stress much.”

“I promised my grandad that I will win Gold in Tokyo, but my granddad died just after my event in Rio, and I couldn’t even attend his funeral. I went to his grave with the silver and promised to turn it into Gold. Over the five years, I have worked very hard to fulfill my promise.”

“I am missing my grandad today but I know he was with me during my event.”

The athlete also mentioned that she missed the crowd. She was a bit disappointed that she did not break her own World record, because of some stress and the wet surface, she had problems and is hopeful that she will break it in Paris 2024.

“Kacper (her son) knows that he was inside me in Rio Paralympics and he feels like he was also a medalist.”

Meanwhile, Russian athlete, Aleksandra Ruchkina won Silver. Even though this is Aleksandra’s first Paralympic Games medal, she was disappointed with her own performance. She covered a distance of 5.59m.

“I wanted to get a better result. Two years ago I was in my form but this time even if I was not stressed or pressured, there was something wrong in the technical side and I could not perform well,” says Aleksandra.

The last event for athletes with Intellectual Impairment will be conducted tomorrow at the Men’s Long Jump Finals. Follow Virtus on socials where you can hear the post-event interviews.

Photo credit: OISPhotos

Superstar of the track takes home fourth Paralympic Gold

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Day-10 (Part-1): Barbara Bieganowska- Zajac from wins her 4th Paralympic Gold medal in 1500m

By Mousumi Mazumdar

It was another rainy and damp day at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium and this did not stop the athletes’ splendid performances. Experienced Paralympians returned to the podium which has been dominated by first-timers.

Polish runner, Barbara Bieganowska, at the age of 40 years is one of the most decorated athletes Virtus has seen. This four-time Paralympian, and mother of two daughters, is known as the ‘Golden Basia’, she is the current World and Paralympic Record holder and clocked her season-best (SB) today with 4:27.84sec.

“I had to prepare for five years for this race, I have put in a lot of hard work and I feel very to be able to defend my Gold medal,” said Barbara.

On asking about how she manages between her practice and duties of a mother, she said “I love my daughters very much and they know it. I try to spend as much time with them as I can but recently I was away doing my preparations for the games.”

“They know that mummy is doing what she loves so they are very happy. It is my passion and also my profession because it helps me earn money too. It’s been 26 years that I am running and participating in competitions so they know what I do and support me a lot.”

Rio 2016 Bronze medalist- Liudmyla Danylina, from Ukrain finished second with 4:32.82sec and was very happy with her achievement. “I feel very happy. It is the only emotion I can feel right now. I would like to dedicate this medal to my country-Ukraine and my family” said Liudmyla.

Finishing third was a new face from Great Britain- Hannah Tounton with a timing of 4:35.34sec. “During the race I was really thinking to myself right, I’m going to out at my 1500/200m pace, and then on the last lap I’m going to really storm it,” she said

“That’s what I’ve really been doing cause I’ve been practicing lots of my sharp sprints especially when the bell goes. And that bell actually really helped. It actually did, when I crossed the finish line I was like oh my goodness, I’m going to get a bronze medal.”

“I feel amazing and I can’t wait to show all of my family and all my friends when I go home on Sunday. I’m going to celebrate my big belated 35th birthday which was in May and I’m going to have another party celebrating my track Tokyo celebration.”

In Men’s 1500m, Owen Miller (GBR) ran an unforgettable first Paralympic race as he clinched the Gold by clocking 3:54.57sec.

“It’s my first Paralympic Games and it’s been quite an experience. It was really hard, especially the last 18 months. I was training on the grass when the tracks were closed. My coach and my family helped me a lot during my training. This medal means the world to me,” Owen said.

“To be number 1 in the world is a great feeling, I have never done anything like this in my life so it’s very special.”

2019 World Champion Rabotnitskii Alexandr from Russia and Dieng Ndiaga from Italy, both on debut, won their first Paralympic Games medals as they finish second with 3:55.78sec and third with 3:57.24sec respectively.

“I am very happy, I trained a lot for this competition and expected a lot but not a Bronze medal. My best event is 800m but I feel good in participating in 400m and 1500m too. I will train a lot and prepare for the Paris2024 and Vichy 2023.”

Both Dieng and Barbara shared with Virtus their special message for the young athletes:

“My loved ones – do what you love and never push yourself into doing something you don’t like, but once you find your passion, set your goals and do as much as you can to achieve them.” – Barbara Bieganowsk (UKR), 4th Paralympic Gold Women’s 1500M

“If you want to achieve results, you have to work hard” – Dieng Ndiaga (ITA), first Paralympic Games, Bronze Medallist Men’s 1500M

 

The F20 Women’s Long Jump will be the closing event for the Day-10 Keep following Virtus for more updates.