1 December 2009

For Immediate Release

Swimmer James Leow bagged another medal as he came in third in the men’s 100m freestyle of the S9 category with a timing of 01:07:44s at the IWAS World Wheelchair & Amputee Games 2009.

Leow bagged the bronze in a personal best time but still lagged behind Prasanta Karmakar and Sachin Verma, both from India, who won gold and silver respectively. Sachin pipped Leow to the silver medal with a timing of 01:07:07s, a margin of less than a second.

This was Leow’s third medal of the games after a powerful first day performance that saw him garner a gold and a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly and the 50m freestyle respectively.

Team Singapore is represented at the IWAS World Wheelchair & Amputee Games 2009 by six athletes competing in athletics, badminton and swimming. 

The final medal tally stands at two golds, one silver and three bronzes.

Team Singapore will be coming home on 4 December 2009 (Friday), 6.00am on flight SQ503.

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About Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC)

SDSC is the only organization in Singapore that caters sports for persons across all kinds of disabilities. It aims to help people with disability lead full and independent lives through sports. Besides providing sporting opportunities for them to realize their potential, SDSC trains talents to represent Singapore and pursue excellence at regional and international competitions. Find out more at http://www.sdsc.org.sg.

For Additional Media Information, Please Contact

Nolan Ovinis
Senior Executive, Corporate Communications
Singapore Disability Sports Council
Contacts: nolan@sdsc.org.sg or +65 91817774

Jeff Ang
Executive, Corporate Communications
Singapore Disability Sports Council
Contacts: jeff.ang@sdsc.org.sg or +65 83283916

30 November 2009

For Immediate Release

Singapore opened its medal account at the IWAS World Wheelchair & Amputee Games 2009 with five medals in badminton and swimming, including gold medals for the badminton doubles pairing of Tay Wei Ming and Kelvin Pung and for swimmer James Leow in the 100m butterfly of the S9 category.

Asean Para Games singles champion Tay Wei Ming, together with partner Kelvin Pung overcame J Satyam and T Sanjeevaiah for the badminton doubles crown of the BMSTU4 category. Tay added another medal to his personal tally by winning silver in the singles competition, after being edged out by games favorite J Satyam from India. Kelvin Pung completed Singapore’s near domination of the podium by beating T Sanjeevaiah in the battle for the bronze medal.

It proved to be a fruitful day for swimmer James Leow as he went home with a gold and bronze medal, both in personal best times. The bronze came in the men’s 50m freestyle (S9 category) with a timing of 00:30.81s. Leow clinched gold in the 100m butterfly with a timing of 01:25.26s.

Swimmers Leow and Theresa Goh will be competing next on 1 December 2009 in the men’s and women’s 100m freestyle respectively.

Team Singapore is represented at the IWAS World Wheelchair & Amputee Games 2009 by six athletes competing in athletics, badminton and swimming. 

The current medal tally stands at two golds, one silver and two bronzes.

_____________________________________________________________
About Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC)

SDSC is the only organization in Singapore that caters sports for persons across all kinds of disabilities. It aims to help people with disability lead full and independent lives through sports. Besides providing sporting opportunities for them to realize their potential, SDSC trains talents to represent Singapore and pursue excellence at regional and international competitions. Find out more at http://www.sdsc.org.sg.

For Additional Media Information, Please Contact

Nolan Ovinis
Senior Executive, Corporate Communications
Singapore Disability Sports Council
Contacts: nolan@sdsc.org.sg or +65 91817774

Jeff Ang
Executive, Corporate Communications
Singapore Disability Sports Council
Contacts: jeff.ang@sdsc.org.sg or +65 83283916

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - On the occasion of the IPC General Assembly, the Paralympic Awards Gala, proudly partnered by IPC’s Gold Patron Allianz, was held today at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The winners of the Awards were selected by three Awards Committees, composed of members of the Paralympic Movement and specialists in the relevant areas.
All award recipients were presented with a handmade trophy, designed and crafted by Italian design company G.D.E. Bertoni.

Said Sir Philip Craven, IPC President: “The Paralympic Awards honour top athletes, officials, international media and contributors from the scientific and academic world and recognize their achievements and contributions based on the last Paralympic Games in Beijing 2008. We thank Allianz for their true partnership, great support and commitment to the Paralympic cause.”

The Paralympic Sport Awards 2009 were awarded in five categories, based on performance at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games:

Best Male Athlete: Matthew Cowdrey (AUS), Swimming Best Female Athlete: Chantal Petitclerc (CAN), Athletics Best Team Performance: Australian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team Best Games Debut: Sophie Pascoe (NZL), Swimming Exemplary Games Official: WANG Xinxian (CHN), Chef de Mission

The Paralympic Media Awards 2009 honour members of the media who presented the highest quality and most dynamic coverage of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, in four categories:

Broadcast: ABC TV (AUS)
Written (Print/Online): The Sunday Telegraph (GBR)
Radio: BBC Radio (GBR)
Photo: Damir Sencar (CRO)

The Paralympic Scientific Award 2009 recognized one outstanding contributor (academic or scientific) for research in the field of sport for persons with a disability.

Paralympic Scientific Award 2009: Gudrun Doll-Tepper (GER)

Alexander Ankel, CEO of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, said: “It is a great honour for us to present these awards. Allianz aims to promote the Paralympic idea globally. At the same time, the co-operation with Paralympic athletes is a great, motivational experience for us. Both partners, Allianz and the Paralympic Movement, benefit from this partnership.”

Furthermore, a Paralympic Order was presented to Mr. Bob Fisher (Great Britain). The Paralympic Order is the highest recognition presented by the IPC and is awarded to a person, who has made an outstanding or long-lasting contribution to the Paralympic Movement and/or to the overall success of the Paralympic Games.

For more information about the Paralympic Awards and a brief profile of each Award winner, please visit the IPC website at http://www.paralympic.org.

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Notes to the Editor:

About IPC
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by more than 160 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

About Allianz
Allianz SE is one of the world’s leading insurers and financial services providers. Founded in 1890, Allianz SE is now present in more than 70 countries with over 150,000 employees. Allianz provides its about 75 million customers worldwide with a comprehensive range of services in the areas of property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, and asset management. Allianz SE is member of Transparency International Germany and supports the Principles of the United Nations Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinationals through its Code of Conduct. Allianz SE is one of the leaders of the insurance sector in the Dow Jones. Sustainability Index, listed in FTSE4GOOD and in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP6).

The competitiveness and the performance of Paralympic athletes is exceptional – a motivation that drives us to deliver outstanding services to our about 75 Million customers world-wide every day. For the future, this partnership allows Allianz and IPC to initiate jointly developed projects, to allow for a better understanding of social and customer needs. Taking the athlete’s exceptional achievements and the outstanding performance as a role model for all our Allianz’ people, this partnership also sets a standard for employee engagement, motivation and performance. For more information, please visit http://www.allianz.com.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Media & Communications Senior Manager, e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to http://www.paralympic.org.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Today, the members of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) present in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 2009 IPC General Assembly (GA) elected a new Governing Board.

It was the largest GA to date, with more than 350 participants from 100 National Paralympic Committees, five Regions, four IOSDs (International Organizations for the Disabled) and 22 Sports.

Sir Philip Craven (Great Britain) was re-elected President with 118 votes out of 130 possible for another four year term. Greg Hartung (Australia) was elected Vice-President by majority receiving 66 votes.

The following people were elected Member at Large:

Dato’ Zainal Abu-Zarin, Malaysia
Mr. Jose Luis Campo, Argentina
Ms. Ann Cody, USA
Mr. Alan Dickson, Great Britain
Mr. Ali Harzallah, Tunisia
Ms. Hyang-Sook Jang, Korea
Mr. Patrick Jarvis, Canada
Mr. Andrew Parsons, Brazil
Mr. Miguel Sagarra, Spain
Ms. Rita van Driel, The Netherlands

The IPC Chief Executive Officer Xavier Gonzalez and the Chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council, Bob Balk, are also ex-officio members of the IPC Governing Board.

The Governing Board is the representative of the IPC Membership, elected at the General Assembly in accordance with nomination and election procedures adopted by the IPC Membership at the 2004 Extraordinary General Assembly. The GB is responsible for overseeing the affairs of the IPC in between meetings of the General Assembly. It is comprised of 15 members and holds meetings at least three times a year.

The IPC GB is primarily responsible for the implementation of policies and directions set by the GA. Additionally, the Governing Board provides recommendations on membership (conditions for membership and fees) to the General Assembly, including motions received from members. It is also responsible for approving budgets and audited accounts, IPC Rules and Regulations, membership of IPC Committees and the Paralympic Games.

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Notes to the Editor:

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by more than 160 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Media & Communications Senior Manager, on tel: +49-170-3899982, e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to http://www.paralympic.org.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - During the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the IPC membership today decided in favour of the re-inclusion of athletes with intellectual disability (ID athletes) in competitions, including the Paralympic Games.

Said IPC President Sir Philip Craven: “Today’s achievement is the outcome of a unique and excellent co-operation between sports governance and the scientific community. I want to thank all parties involved, especially the scientists, for their contribution and commitment over the last two years”.

“I wish all ID athletes the best of success in their attempt to set world class performances at future competitions,” he continued.

This decision opens the participation of ID athletes in Paralympic Sport in a two-step process. At first, the procedure of classification will require the submission of the appropriate medical files to the INAS-FID International Eligibility Committee for review. Once an application is approved by this Committee, INAS-FID will issue a letter to the athlete stating the athlete is found ‘eligible’ and is allowed to proceed to the next step of the classification process. The athlete then will proceed to on-site testing by a classification panel, appointed by the International Federation which governs that sport. The on-site testing will focus on ‘sports intelligence’, and will include tests relevant to that particular sport.

Test scores will be evaluated against sport-specific minimal disability scores and the athlete will be allocated the sport class that applies to ID athletes in a particular sport.

As of this autumn, no sport-specific minimal disability scores are available yet. This requires the full analysis of all data collected from the 2009 INAS-FID Global Games and other competitions, and it is expected that criteria will be made available mid 2010.

It is guaranteed that the ID Athlete Classification System is developed in accordance with the IPC Classification Code, has an evidence-based methodology, and thus strengthens the decisions on the right for ID athletes to be included in a particular sport.

As a consequence, ID athletes will from now on be eligible to compete at the discretion of the International Federation being operationally ready with the classification system. Paralympic sports that target the inclusion of ID athletes in future competitions, should extend their classification system on the basis of the above mentioned model.

The President of INAS-FID, Bob Price, said: “Naturally, I am delighted with the outcome of the vote. Even though they themselves did nothing wrong, for nine years since Sydney 2000, ID athletes have been excluded from the Paralympic Games and other IPC sanctioned competitions”.

“This resolution brings this unfortunate episode to an end and re-introduces ID athletes to their proper place within the Paralympic Family. I am hugely grateful to the Joint Working Group and its associated research teams and I look forward to seeing ID athletes competing on the world’s stage in London in 2012,” Mr. Price commented.

The decision on the events to be included in a competition will be made in accordance with the set forth provisions. This is for the determination of that competition’s medal events and the respective qualification criteria, which is no different than any other event for any athlete. The inclusion of ID athletes will not reduce the number of athletes from other classes in events at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

______________________

Notes to the Editor:

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 162 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Media and Communication Senior Manager, on tel: +49-170-3899982, e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to http://www.paralympic.org.