International Virtus Sports Federation

Last updated

Virtus Sport (INAS)
Founded 1986
TypeNot-for-profit organisation for intellectual disability
FocusSport, disability
Location
  • UK
Area served
Worldwide
Membersc. 500,000
Key people
President – Marc Truffaut (France)
Executive Director – Nick Parr (UK)
Website https://www.virtus.sport/
Formerly called
INAS-FID, INAS-FMH
Member of International Paralympic Committee

Virtus Sport (formerly INAS or INAS Sport) (International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability; originally called INAS-FMH, later INAS-FID,INAS and now as Virtus Sport) is a federation which was established in 1986 by professionals in the Netherlands who were involved in sport and wanted to promote the participation of athletes with mental handicap in elite sports (intellectual impairment).

Contents

The organisation uses the brand name Virtus to promote sport worldwide for athletes with intellectual disability, autism and Down syndrome. [1]

It provides competition opportunities for elite athletes with an intellectual disability in Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports and is different from Special Olympics, which provides non-elite opportunities worldwide.

Names

  1. INAS-FMH – 1986–1994
  2. INAS-FID – International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID): 1994–?
  3. INAS – International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability: ?–2019
  4. Virtus Sport – 2019–present

History

The founding meeting of the first Executive Committee took place in January 1986 and after which the organisation became a member of the ICC– the International Coordinating Committee– the organisation that later became the International Paralympic Committee.

INAS' original membership was 14 nations which has grown into around 80 nations today.

In 1989, the 1st World Games for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability were held in Harnosand, Sweden and in 1992, immediately after the Barcelona Paralympic Games, the first Paralympic Games for 'Persons with mental handicap' were held in Madrid. [2]

In 1994, INAS-FMH became INAS-FID – the 'International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability' and in 1996, for the first time, a small programme of events for athletes with an intellectual disability was included in the Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

A larger programme including athletics, swimming and basketball was included in the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000, but it soon emerged that a small number of athletes had cheated the system of determining eligibility, resulting in the suspension of events – a suspension that was to remain in place until 2012.

Despite exclusion from the Paralympic Games, the INAS sport programme continued to grow considerably to incorporate more than 10 sports whilst its membership grew to cover all 5 continents.

Eligibility and classification

Athletes with an intellectual disability are characterised by an IQ of 75 or below, significant limitations in Adaptive Behaviour and the disability must be present before the age of 18. This is based on the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability's definition of intellectual disability.

Recognized sports

Sports: [3]

Core sports

  1. Athletics
  2. Basketball
  3. Cricket
  4. Cycling
  5. Equestrian
  6. Football/futsal
  7. Judo
  8. Rowing
  9. Skiing
  10. Swimming
  11. Table tennis
  12. Tennis

Partnerships with international federations

  1. Golf
  2. Karate
  3. Para-hockey
  4. Sailing
  5. Taekwondo

Current activities

Today's sport programme includes some 15 annual events, and more than 4000 athletes are registered to compete at an international level, while thousands of people with an intellectual disability receive opportunities for sport through the work of member organisations.

Following a partnership between INAS and the International Paralympic Committee to overhaul the process of determining athlete eligibility, events for athletes with an intellectual disability were re-instated to the Paralympic programme by the IPC General Assembly in November 2009, in preparation for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

In 2019, INAS was rebranded as Virtus.[ citation needed ]

Events

INAS World Championships

NumberEventFirst EditionLast edition
Main sports
1 INAS World Athletics Championships (outdoor, indoor)1989, 200110th (2017), 9th (2016)
2INAS World Cross Country Championships20029th (2017)
3INAS World Half Marathon Championships20068th (2018)
4 INAS World Swimming Championships 19896th (2017)
5INAS World Cycling Championships199910th (2018)
6INAS World Rowing Championships (outdoor, indoor)2014, 20092nd (2015), 4th (2015)
Team sports
8INAS World Basketball Championships199410th (2017)
9INAS World Cricket Championships20112nd (2015)
10 INAS World Football Championships 19947th (2018)
11INAS World Futsal Championships20122nd (2017)
12INAS World Handball Championshipsno yetno yet
13INAS World Hockey Championships (field hockey)no yetno yet
Winter sports
14INAS World Ski Championships (alpine, Nordic)20099th (2017)
Other sports
15INAS World Equestrian Championships20171st (2017)
16INAS World Table Tennis Championships19957th (2017)
17INAS World Tennis Championships20047th (2018)

Note : INAS does not organise events in Taekwondo but work in partnership with World Taekwondo World Para Taekwondo Championships.

INAS Global Games

In 2004 INAS launched a new multi-sport competition INAS Global Games (INAS World Games / Intellectual Disability Global Games). The first event took place in Bollnäs, Sweden and featured more than 1000 athletes. The second Global Games took place in Czech Republic in 2009. With the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability into Paralympic competition, it was decided to move the Global Games to the year preceding the Paralympics. The next Global Games therefore took place in 2011. After a bidding procedure, Italy was chosen as the host nation. The 2015 Global Games took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in September. The 2019 INAS Global Games took place in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. [6] The 2023 Virtus Global Games took place in Vichy, France. [7]

No.YearDatesCity and host countryChampionSportsEventsCountries
12004July Flag of Sweden.svg Bollnäs, Sweden Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 640
220097–11 June Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Liberec, Czech Republic Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 934
3201126 September–4 October Flag of Italy.svg Loano, Italy Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 930
4201520–27 September Flag of Ecuador.svg Quito, Ecuador Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 835
5201912–19 October Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brisbane, Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 11
620234–10 June Flag of France.svg Vichy, France Flag of France.svg  France 1347

Results for 2023 Virtus Global Games: https://c3k8ff.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Results-GG2023.pdf

Regional Games

Source: [8] [9]

European Championships

Source: [10] [11] [12] [13]

Members (28 nations in 2019): [14]

Sports: [15] [16]

  1. Athletics: [17]
  2. Swimming: [18]
  3. Futsal/Football: [19]
  4. Basketball: [20]
  5. Handball: [21]
  6. Table Tennis: [22]
  7. Other Sports (Cycling,Rowing,Judo,Skiing,Tennis,Equestrian): [23]

INAS European Games

No.YearDatesCity and host countryChampionSportsEventsCountries
1201814 - 22 July Flag of France.svg Paris, France 7 + 2TBD
22022 Flag of Poland.svg Krakow, Poland TBD

Results of the 2018 European Championship: [24]

CountryPosition
ItalyChampion (1st Title)
PortugalRunner-up
SpainThird Place

The 1st European Winter Games (skiing, rowing, futsal, basketball 3x3) took place in Zakopane, Poland from 2 March - 8 March 2024.[ citation needed ]

INAS Asia-Pacific Games

The 1st Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022 took place in Australia from 5-11 November 2022. [25]

Sports: [26]

  1. Athletics - Paralympic Pathway
  2. Badminton - Demonstration Sport
  3. Basketball
  4. Cycling - Track & Road Cycling
  5. Judo
  6. Rowing - On-Water & Indoor Rowing
  7. Sailing - Para Sailing International Championship
  8. Swimming - Paralympic Pathway
  9. Table Tennis - Paralympic Pathway
  10. Taekwondo
  11. Triathlon - Demonstration Sport

20 countries took part in the event: [27]

Events: [28]

Medals: [29]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 948343220
2Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 25131553
3Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 917733
4Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 4228
5Flag of India.svg  India 4037
6Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 3036
7Flag of Malaysia 23px.svg  Malaysia 2237
8Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 15511
9Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 1304
10Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 12811
11Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 12710
12Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 1203
13Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 0123
14Flag of Macau.svg  Macau 0011
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 0011
Totals (15 entries)146132100378

In the event, Solomon Islands received one silver while the Republic of Palau received no medals.

INAS Pan American Games

The 2026 Virtus Americas Regional Games are scheduled to take place in Peru. [30]

See also

References

  1. "High performance sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment". inas.org. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. DePauw, Karen P; Rich, Sarah (Winter 1993). "Paralympics for the mentally handicapped". Palaestra. Vol. 9, no. 2. pp. 59–64.
  3. "Sports - VIRTUS". 4 January 2021.
  4. "Events and competitions for athletes with an intellectual impairment". inas.org. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. "International Federation for Intellectual Impairment Sport: Global Games". inas.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  6. "Inas Global Games 2019". www.inasglobalgames.org. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  7. "2023 Virtus Global Games". virtus.sport. 13 October 2023.
  8. https://www.virtus.sport/regional-games [ bare URL ]
  9. http://www.virtuseurope.eu/ [ bare URL ]
  10. "Synthesis - Virtus Europe".
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.inaseurope.org/index.html [ bare URL ]
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.virtuseurope.eu/ [ bare URL ]
  13. "Virtuseurope.eu". Archived from the original on 12 June 2021.
  14. "Members - Virtus Europe".
  15. "Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  16. "Sports - virtuseurope.eu". Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.
  17. "Athletics - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  18. "Swimming - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  19. "Futsal/Football - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  20. "Basketball - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  21. "Handball - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  22. "Table Tennis - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  23. "Other sports - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  24. "2018 INAS European Championship Games". INAS. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017.
  25. https://oagames2022.org/ [ bare URL ]
  26. "Sports | OAG". 19 July 2022.
  27. "The Countries - OAG". 30 October 2022.
  28. "Events & Results - OAG". 3 November 2022.
  29. "Medal Tally - OAG". 7 November 2022.
  30. "Peru to Host Inaugural 2026 Virtus Americas Regional Games - VIRTUS". 19 July 2023.