Formation | 1964 |
---|---|
Type | International sport federation |
Headquarters | Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
President: | Rudi Van den Abbeele |
CEO: | Charmaine Hooper |
Website | www.iwasf.com |
Formerly called | International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation |
World Abilitysport (formerly the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation or IWAS) is an international sports organisation that governs sports for athletes with physical impairments.
It is a registered charity with its headquarters located at Aylesbury College in Buckinghamshire. [1] It is the international governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair fencing, as well as power hockey and Para dance sport. It also organizes the World Abilitysport Games, an event for Paralympic sports held outside of Summer Paralympic years.
The International Stoke Mandeville Games were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games and followed the vision of their creator and founder, Ludwig Guttmann.
IWAS was formed in 2005 following a merger of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF) (which was formerly known as the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF) and the International Sports Federation of the Disabled (ISOD). ISOD had been founded by the International War Veterans Association in 1964. [4]
In November 2022 during an Extraordinary General Assembly, the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and IWAS approved a merger. [5] In April 2023, the organization rebranded as World Abilitysport. [6] [7] In January 2024, it took over governance of wheelchair dancesport from the International Paralympic Committee. [8]
World Abilitysport serves as the international governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair fencing. It also serves as the governing body for two non-Paralympic sports, power hockey and Para dance sport. [6] [8]
It also governs frame football, frame running, and wheelchair slalom as "developing" sports. [6]
The World Abilitysport Games are a parasports multi-sport event for athletes who use wheelchairs or are amputees. Organized by World Abilitysport, the Games are a successor to the original Stoke Mandeville Games founded in 1948 by Ludwig Guttmann, and the International Stoke Mandeville Games—the first international sporting competition for athletes with disabilities, and the forerunner to the modern Paralympic Games.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
The Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), a founding member of the Paralympic movement, was an international sports and recreation association for cerebral palsy and related neurological conditions. CPISRA organised recreational opportunities, developed adaptive sports and organised sport events for people with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological conditions. CPISRA was formed in 1969. It was made up of worldwide members and a community of volunteers including an advisory board, specialist committees and networks.
The Asian Paralympic Committee is an organization based in United Arab Emirates. It has 45 National Paralympic Committees of the Asian continent as members. It organizes the Asian Para Games and is affiliated to the International Paralympic Committee.
Virtus Sport is a federation established in 1986 by Dutch athletic professionals to promote the participation of athletes with mental handicap in elite sports.
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Amputee sports classification is a disability specific sport classification used for disability sports to facilitate fair competition among people with different types of amputations. This classification was set up by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), and is currently managed by IWAS who ISOD merged with in 2005. Several sports have sport specific governing bodies managing classification for amputee sportspeople.
Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competition between people with different types of disabilities, and to give credibility to disability sports. It was designed and managed by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) until the 2005 merger with IWAS, when management switched to that organization. Classification is handled on the national level by relevant sport organizations.
LA3 is a Les Autres sport classification is a wheelchair sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal trunk function, good sitting balance, and functional upper limbs. They have limited use of their lower limbs.
LA4 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class may or may not uses crutches and/or braces on a daily basis. They have some issues with balance and reduced function in their upper limbs.
LA5 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal upper limb functionality, but have problems with balance or use of their lower limbs. Generally, limb problems are confined to one limb.
LA6 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have a minimal locomotor disability that tends to impact one of their upper limbs or knees. The class includes people with arthritis and osteoporosis, or ankylosis of the knee.
F1, also T1 and SP1, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C6. Historically, it was known as 1A Complete. People in this class have no sitting balance, and are tetraplegics. They may be able to perform limited actions with one hand. They lack sitting balance, and have limited head control and respiratory endurance. The process for classification into this class has a medical and functional classification process. This process is often sport specific.
F2, also T2 and SP2, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C7. Historically, it was known as 1B Complete, 1A Incomplete. People in this class are often tetraplegics. Their impairment effects the use of their hands and lower arm, and they can use a wheelchair using their own power.
F3, also T3 and SP3, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C8. Historically, it was known as 1C Complete, and 1B Incomplete. F3 sportspeople have functional issues related to the muscles in their throwing arm, though they have enough control over their fingers to grip a throwing implement normally. They have no functional trunk control.
F4, also T4 and SP4, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level T1- T7. Historically, it was known as 1C Incomplete, 2 Complete, or Upper 3 Complete. People in this class have normal upper limb function, and functional issues with muscles below the nipple line.
F7, also SP7, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level S1- S2. Historically, it has been referred to as Lower 5. It is characterized by people having their lower limb muscles strength and function impacted. People in the SP7 class generally have good sitting balance and some trunk movement backwards and forwards. One side may be stronger than the other.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.
The Cerebral Palsy Games are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability, which under the former name of the International Stoke Mandeville Games were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as the International Cerebral Palsy Games or the Stoke Mandeville Games. Since the 1990s the Games are organized by the organisation Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), so they called also CPISRA World Games.