Inas, the International Federation for Sport for athletes with an intellectual disability, has announced that Nick Parr (UK) will take up the role of Executive Director.

Following the successful re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability into the Paralympic Games programme in 2012, after a 12 year absence, the appointment is seen as crucial to take full advantage of the opportunities that will surely follow.

Dr Bob Price (Inas President) said “For Inas, 2012 represented a milestone and an opportunity of almost unparalleled significance. The Games were hugely successful in many different ways and with re-inclusion now achieved, I believe Inas is on the cusp of a very exciting future”.

Nick Parr was most recently National Sport Manager in England, promoting opportunities for, and working with, athletes with an intellectual disability. In recent years, he has supported the Inas Executive Committee as they worked with the International Paralympic Committee and various international sports organisations as they prepared for re-inclusion into Paralympic sport.

Nick said “I am very proud and excited to have the opportunity to join Inas in this new role. Though London was a huge success, there is still much work to do to give athletes with an intellectual disability across the World the opportunity to enjoy sport and to perform at the highest level. I look forward to leading the organisation as it builds towards Rio 2016 and beyond”.

Nick will begin his role in January and will be based in the UK.

Earlier this week, the University of Lincoln paid tribute to the Inas President Dr Bob Price OBE, when it awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science to recognise a lifetime of dedication to the disability sport movement.

The graduation ceremony took place on Tuesday evening (4th September) at Lincoln Cathedral and recognised a distinguished career spanning 40 years improving the lives of people with a disability through sport.

Dr Price is currently the President of Inas – the International Sports Federation for Para-athletes with an Intellectual Disability – and was previously President of both British and European Paralympic Committees. He was Chef De Mission for the Great Britain team to five Summer Paralympic Games between 1984 and 2000.

It was fitting that the ceremony took place during the 2012 Paralympic Games, in which athletes with an intellectual disability compete for the first time in 12 years. Following problems relating to the classification of athletes in Sydney 2000, Dr Price led Inas’ work with organisations including the International Paralympic Committee and others to ensure their re-inclusion in time for the London Games.

In April, Dr Price retired as the Chief Executive of Linkage Community Trust – a national charity based in Lincolnshire – which delivers high-quality specialist education, care and employment support services to people with a learning disability.

Dr Price was awarded an OBE for services to sport for the disabled in 1993 and in 1996 he received a further honour, the Paralympic Order. The Paralympic Order is the highest accolade a person can receive in connection with the movement. It honours someone who has exemplified the Paralympic ideals through their actions.

History will soon be made in London, as athletes with an intellectual impairment are set to make their return to the Paralympic Games.

After a 12 year absence, it has been revealed that 120 athletes with an intellectual impairment have been selected by their National Paralympic Committees.

The impairment group is one of 10 recognised by the Paralympic Movement, but was removed from the Games programme in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 after it emerged that a number of athletes had competed within the class at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games despite not having an intellectual impairment.

A system was needed that reliably determined an athletes’ eligibility to compete. After earlier efforts failed to find a satisfactory solution, a joint initiative between Inas (the International Federation for sport for para-athletes with an intellectual disability) and the IPC (International Paralympic Committee), backed by a number of universities and sports scientists around the world, was established.

After extensive scientific research and testing, and in close consultation and co-operation with the respective sport governing bodies, the IPC voted in 2009 to re-instate events in the London programme and the race has been on since to ensure that not only were eligibility systems ready in time for 2012, but that athletes worldwide were successfully re-integrated into Paralympic Sport to achieve qualification. Athletes will compete in Athletics, Swimming and Table Tennis.

Dr Bob Price, Inas President, said “I was frequently told that athletes with an intellectual impairment would never compete in another Paralympic Games. However, working together, Inas and the IPC backed by the dedication of the scientific community, together with the determination of athletes around the World means that participation in the London Games is not only about to be achieved, but will inspire nations across the World to do more to develop sport for people with an intellectual impairment and to begin looking ahead to Rio in 2016”.

Dr Price added “Though 120 athletes is relatively small, it is still comparable to the number of athletes who took part in these three sports in Sydney in 2000. This is a huge achievement for both Inas and the IPC”.

Michael Murray, 21, is one of the athletes selected. Murray was selected for the Games after qualifying in the 1500 meter run at the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field Trials recently held in Indianapolis. He has the additional honour of being the only track and field athlete with an intellectual impairment selected by the US team.  “I’m really excited, but trying to stay calm about going to London. I’ve been watching the Olympics while training over the past month in California. I think it’s not how you start, but how you finish, and everyone in our family knows limits are only a state of mind”.

Professor Jan Burns, Inas Head of Eligibility, added “To be eligible for selection, each athlete has undergone a strict ‘primary eligibility’ check (a review of IQ and other medical data to determine a diagnosis of intellectual impairment according to international standards) together with a sports-specific classification assessment (an evaluation to ensure that the disability has a significant limitation on their performance in sport)”.

The project team which developed this process recently won a 2012 Podium award for their contribution to scientific research.

The Games begin on 30^th August. Athletes will compete in Class T/F20 in Athletics, S14 in Swimming and Class 11 in Table Tennis.

With support from the British Psychological Society, Inas has developed a series of educational resources to help understanding of the process of athlete eligibility and classification.

These include:

• Paralympic Classification of Elite Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities– This short video will tell you the inspiring story of how athletes with intellectual disabilities have re-joined the Paralympics for London 2012. You will hear from athletes, the GB Head Coach, the GB Team Manager, the Chief Executive of the UK Sports Association and the Head of Eligibility for Inas as they discuss what is involved to become eligible to compete on this world stage, and the anticipated legacies of London 2012 for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
• Psychology and the Paralympics: This short film examines the role of the classifier for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Jennifer Maris is a trainee clinical psychologist and she recently volunteered to use her psychological skills to help the classification process for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Here she describes what this means, what’s involved and the exciting opportunities and challenges this has opened up for her.
• An Introduction to Eligibility and Classification – This presentation discusses the primary eligibility process and sports classification for athletes with an intellectual disability
• The Sports Classification Cognitive Test – This presentation talks in more detail about the computer tests used as part of the classification process
• Intellectual Disability – This briefing sheet discusses intellectual disability and some of the key organisations in the UK and worldwide

The resources can be found on the Eligibility page.