Prof Jan Burns MBE appointed as new chairperson of IPC sub-committee for classification

As a part of the #AthleteFirst Campaign, we are delighted to announce that Virtus Head of Eligibility and Governing Board member, Prof Jan Burns MBE, has been appointed as chairperson at the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC’s) newly launched Classification Compliance and Oversight Committee (CCOC).

The CCOC members met in person for the first time in Bonn, Germany recently. The CCOC was developed and approved as a part of the new IPC constitution. The goal of the CCOC committee will be to develop and deliver the IPC Classification Code, increase education and communication about classification across the Paralympic Movement, and guide the member International Federations who are each responsible for classification in their own sport.

One of the primary roles of the CCOC will be to advise the IPC Governing Board on compliance and development with the IPC Classification Code, on global classification education and understanding along with education and communication about classification to stakeholders.

According to Prof Burns, the three key areas which need to be focused on through the movement are (i) Code compliance and implementation of new code, (ii) educating members of Paralympic Family and, (iii) an evolving framework of classifications.

“One of the reasons the IPC Governing Board wanted to reposition the Committee and give it a new name was that it is a real pivotal time in classification, with the Code Review and the ongoing divestment of the IPC sports. The latter means the IPC will shortly not be engaged in delivering classification through its own six sports. Central to the new CCOC is getting into a position of shared ownership and shared responsibility with the Paralympic Movement”, Jan Burns told IPC.

Jan also praised the former Classification Committee and chair Anne Hart and said, “Anne helped create the foundations of what classification is and its importance to the Paralympic Movement. Classification has been on a massive journey over the last 20 years and Anne has had to take a lot of people, sometimes reluctantly, with her. But she has done that with a great degree of humility, finesse, and massive professional competence. I’m in awe of what she has achieved, and the Movement owes her and the fellow classification pioneers a great deal of gratitude.”

The Virtus Governing Board congratulates Prof. Burns and wishes her all the best in her new role, which she will undertake alongside her role with Virtus.

The full list of appointments on the CCOC is available here.