Formerly |
|
---|---|
Sport | Parasports |
Founded | 1948 |
Continent | International (IPC) |
The World Abilitysport Games (known as the IWAS World Games before 2023) are a parasports multi-sport event for athletes who use wheelchairs or are amputees. Organized by World Abilitysport (formerly IWAS), the Games are a successor to the original Stoke Mandeville Games founded in 1948 by Ludwig Guttmann, and specifically the International Stoke Mandeville Games—the first international sporting competition for athletes with disabilities which was held in 1952, itself an Olympic year, between British and Dutch athletes and which ultimately was the forerunner to the modern Paralympic Games.
The 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972 editions of the International Stoke Mandeville Games were held in the same host country as the Summer Olympics; they were later retroactively recognized as also being the first four Paralympic Games. The event continued to be held annually, as simply the International Stoke Mandeville Games, in between Paralympic years.
After the Paralympics expanded to include events for disability classifications other than wheelchairs, the ISMG for wheelchair athletes continued to be hosted annually in Stoke Mandeville, and later other countries, in all non-Paralympic years.
In 2024 the previous IWAS merged with the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) to form World Abilitysport and the IWAS World Games were once more renamed World Abilitysport Games accordingly.
A separate event to be known as the Guttmann Games for events and disciplines not yet on the Paralympic Game schedules, organised by World Abilitysport, has been planned for 2024.
The event was first established in 1948 as the Stoke Mandeville Games by neurologist Ludwig Guttmann, who organized a sporting competition involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital rehabilitation facility in Aylesbury, England, taking place concurrently with the first post-war Olympic Games in London. In 1952, the Netherlands joined in the event, creating the first international sports competition for athletes with a disability, after which it was renamed the International Stoke Mandeville Games. [1]
In 1960 and subsequent Olympic years, the ISMG began to increasingly be hosted in the same country (if not the same host city) as their respective Olympics, with all other editions remaining in Stoke Mandeville. The Games were also increasingly referred to as "Paralympics", originally in reference to paraplegia, but later officially referring to an event operating in parallel with the Olympic movement. While the Paralympic Games evolved to include athletes from all disability groups beginning in 1976, the Stoke Mandeville Games continued to be organized as a multi-sport event for wheelchair athletes in non-Paralympic years. Games were held annually in Aylesbury under the direction of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), which later became the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF).
In 2003, the Games were combined with a competition for amputee athletes organized by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD). In 2004, ISMWSF and ISOD merged to create the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). The Games were subsequently renamed the "World Wheelchair and Amputee Games" in 2005, and later renamed to simply the "IWAS World Games".
In 2024 the previous IWAS merged with the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) to form World Abilitysport.
The inaugural competition, initially named "Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed" in 1948, was just named "Stoke Mandeville Games" the next year, before becoming the "International Stoke Mandeville Games" (ISMG) in 1952.
Beginning in 1960 during Summer Olympic years, the ISMG were held in the same host city as the Summer Olympics. These particular editions of the Games were retroactively recognised as being the first four Paralympic Games. The Games were otherwise hosted in Stoke Mandeville in all other years. Beginning in 1976, the Paralympic Games began hosting events for amputees and the visually impaired; at this point, the Paralympics were no longer credited as being editions of the ISMG, but the ISMG went on hiatus during Paralympic years.
Year | Name of the event | Host | Annotation |
---|---|---|---|
Stoke Mandeville Games | |||
1948 | Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed [2] | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | July 28, 1948, archery competition, 16 competitors [3] (14 men, 2 women [4] ) |
1949 | Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | Six teams competed.'wheelchair netball' (later wheelchair basketball) was introduced. [5] |
1950 | Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1951 | Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
International Stoke Mandeville Games | |||
1952 | 1st International Stoke Mandeville Games [6] | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | A Dutch team participated, making it an international event for the first time. [3] |
1953 | 2nd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1954 | 3rd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1955 | 4th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1956 | 5th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1957 | 6th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1958 | 7th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1959 | 8th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
Combined International Stoke Mandeville Games and Paralympic Games era | |||
1960 | 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games [7] and 1960 Summer Paralympics | Rome, Italy | 400 competitors from 23 countries (10 with medalists) in 8 sports. First edition occurring outside UK, in the same host city as the Summer Olympic Games. Held in Rome in the hope of becoming better internationally recognized and integrated with other national and international sports federations to organize what will become recognised as the Paralympic Games. |
1961 | 10th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1962 | 11th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1963 | 12th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1964 | 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games [8] and 1964 Summer Paralympics | Tokyo, Japan | Second Paralympic Games retrospectively |
1965 | 14th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1966 | 15th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1967 | 16th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1968 | 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games [9] and 1968 Summer Paralympics | Tel Aviv, Israel | Third Paralympic Games retrospectively. First edition held outside the Olympic host city. |
1969 | 18th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1970 | 19th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1971 | 20th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1972 | 1972 Summer Paralympics [9] [10] and 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games | Heidelberg, West Germany | Fourth Paralympic Games retrospectively, First edition where 'Paralympic Games' title took primacy. Final edition which served as both International Stoke Mandeville Games and Paralympic Games. Held in Olympic host country for first time since 1964. |
1973 | 22nd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1974 | 23rd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1975 | 24th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
Paralympic Games and International Stoke Mandeville Games diverge. | |||
1977 | 25th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1978 | 26th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1979 | 27th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1981 | 28th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1982 | 29th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1983 | 30th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1985 | 31st International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1986 | 32nd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1987 | 33rd International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1989 | 34th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1990 | 35th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1991 | 36th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1993 | 37th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1994 | 38th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
1995 | 39th International Stoke Mandeville Games | Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom | |
World Wheelchair Games | |||
1997 | World Wheelchair Games | From 1997, the International Stoke Mandeville Games became the "World Wheelchair Games" | |
1998 | World Wheelchair Games | ||
1999 | World Wheelchair Games | Christchurch, New Zealand | |
2001 | World Wheelchair Games [11] | ||
2002 | World Wheelchair Games [11] | ||
2003 | World Wheelchair Games [11] | Christchurch, New Zealand | |
World Wheelchair and Amputee Games | |||
2005 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games [12] | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Renamed "World Wheelchair and Amputee Games" Over 700 athletes from 44 nations. Five events: track and field, table tennis, archery, shooting, and billiards. [13] |
2006 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games | Bangalore, Karnataka, India | |
2007 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games [14] | Taipei, Chinese Taipei | |
IWAS World Games | |||
2009 | IWAS World Games [15] [16] [17] [18] | Bangalore, Karnataka, India | Renamed the IWAS World Games. IWAS World Games move to a biennial cycle from 2010. |
2011 | IWAS World Games | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | December 1–10, 2011 [19] |
2013 | IWAS World Games | Stadskanaal, Netherlands | |
2015 | IWAS World Games | Sochi, Russia | |
2017 | IWAS World Games | Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal | |
2019 | IWAS World Games | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | IWAS World Games returned to annual cycle |
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] | |||
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [21] | |||
2022 | IWAS World Games [22] | Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal | Originally scheduled to be hosted by Sochi, IWAS stripped Sochi of its hosting rights in March 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating. [23] The Games were relocated to Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal, which was originally scheduled to host the Games in 2021. [24] |
World Abilitysport Games | |||
2023 | World Abilitysport Games [25] | Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand [26] [27] | Renamed "World Abilitysport Games" after the merger of IWAS and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA). The separate CPISRA Games are not considered part of the history of the WASG. |
For some years now, the IWAS Federation has hosted junior competitions, which were named IWAS World Junior Games by 2015. Since 2016 they are called IWAS Under 23 World Games and will only be played in years with even numbers. [28]
This section needs to be updated.(November 2024) |
In 2024, World Abilitysport announced its inaugural World AbilitysportGuttmann Games. Named after the founder of the Stoke Mandeville Games, the event will take place in Stoke Mandeville in July 2024, and feature competition in sports not on the Paralympic programme. It is scheduled to feature para dance sport and power hockey competitions, as well as wheelchair cricket as a demonstration sport. [29] The event will be broadly analogous to the World Games, a similar multi-sport event for non-Olympic sports and disciplines.
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have a non-disabled equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, have been held shortly after the corresponding Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, retroactively designated as the 1960 Summer Paralympics, were the first international Paralympic Games, following on from the Stoke Mandeville Games of 1948 and 1952. They were organised under the aegis of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation. The term "Paralympic Games" was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) first in 1984, while the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was formed in 1989.
The 1968 Summer Paralympics were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time. The games were originally planned to be held alongside the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but in 1966, the Mexican government decided against it due to difficulties. The Israeli government offered to host the games in Tel Aviv, a suggestion that was accepted.
The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, commonly known as the 1984 Summer Paralympics, were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries and the other at the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University on Long Island, New York, United States for wheelchair and ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, and les autres [the others]. Stoke Mandeville had been the location of the Stoke Mandeville Games from 1948 onwards, seen as the precursors to the Paralympic Games, as the 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games in Rome in 1960 are now recognised as the first Summer Paralympics.
Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide. FIBA has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes.
WheelPower is the national organisation for wheelchair sports in the United Kingdom, and aims to help people with disabilities improve their quality of life.
World Abilitysport is an international sports organisation that governs sports for athletes with physical impairments.
World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) is the international governing body for the sport of wheelchair rugby.
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.
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their disability or combinations of disabilities. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The main competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics which wheelchair racing and athletics has been a part of since 1960. Competitors compete in specialized wheelchairs which allow the athletes to reach speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph) or more. It is one of the most prominent forms of Paralympic athletics.
Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practiced by people with a disability as a parasport. The athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, with two major exceptions in wheelchair racing and the club throw, which are specific to the division. Certain able-bodied events are rarely contested as para-athletic events outside deaf sport; pole vault, triple jump, hammer and the three hurdling events. The sport is known by various names, including disability athletics, disabled track and field and Paralympic athletics. Top-level competitors may be called elite athletes with disability.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.
Stoke Mandeville Stadium is the National Centre for Disability Sport in England. It is sited alongside Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Stoke Mandeville Stadium is owned by WheelPower, the national organisation for wheelchair sport.
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.
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 have been organized by Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), so they called also CPISRA World Games.
Joan Scruton was an organizing member of the International Stoke Mandeville Games from 1952 to 1968, which became the Paralympic Games in 1960. Apart from the games, Scruton was secretary general at the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation from 1975 to 1982. Scruton was named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1975 and awarded the Paralympic Order in 1999.