EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL LOGIG WINS GOLD Fortunately, the rules of logic sometimes end up winning the day. And when we say "winning", it is not in the competitive sense of rivalry; logic is not usually the bedfellow of confrontations, at least as far as going beyond dialogue and the confines of common sense are concerned, well combined with the requirements of justice. Olympic mediation So, the recent dispute between our Federation, IBSA, and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also appears to be on the road to being resolved, thanks to the imposition of logic. The maximum authority of international sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), entered as mediator in the conflict and, serenely yet with the authority and responsibility that is its trademark, has put everything back in its place. In Lausanne (Switzerland), in the headquarters of the IOC, with the decisive backing of the Spanish National Organisation for the Blind (ONCE) - one of the foremost blind associations in the world and historically closely linked to the sports movement for the blind and the disabled in general - the IOC has certified this commitment, assumed by both the IPC and IBSA, to normalise and rationalise their relations for the future. The document (which we publish in this issue) is conclusive in this respect, paving the way as it does for a new phase of collaboration between the two institutions. Authority and autonomy For the representatives of sport for the blind and visually impaired at an international level, the agreement constitutes the recognition of our authority and autonomy in those sectors we objectively consider correspond to our organisation: the regulation of the events our athletes practise and the consequent organisation of regional and world Championships in which they participate regularly. Thus the role of the Federations - in this case, IBSA - is clearly delimited as being that of those responsible for the promotion of sports at all levels for the disabled persons they represent. IPC's task As regards the IPC - and this is something we have never denied - it continues to hold the grave responsibility for successfully organising the top international sporting competitions for the disabled, i.e. the Paralympics and the multidisability international championships (those where people with different disabilities participate together). In the same vein, it is worth stressing the specific allusion to the close collaboration that must exist between IBSA and the IPC when it comes to the correct incorporation of blind athletes in the Paralympic Games and all other sporting events organised by the Paralympic Committee. In practice, this must manifest itself in the form of an effective presence of the technical personnel from our Federation on the Technical Committees (SAEC's) of the IPC, those ultimately responsible for the structure of the competition events. Moreover, and indeed it could not be otherwise, this is in the interests of achieving a better understanding of things, as nobody knows better than the disabled athletes' International Federations themselves - and are thus in a position to ensure an adequate organisation - the problems involved in such confrontations. Recognition IBSA really had to communicate its express recognition of the work of the IOC in the disabled sports movement and did so formally - through the person of the president of the Olympic Committee, Mr Samaranch - at the IBSA Executive Committee meeting, held in Rome on February 21-22. The mediation of the IOC permitted the signing of a document that goes far beyond the written word, in the spirit of respect, independence and, at the same time, unity within the organisations that make up the IPC, and specifically with respect to the sports represented by the IBSA Federation. We hope, and are convinced for the future, that Juan A. Samaranch will maintain this position of champion and guardian of the interests of disabled sport, as he has demonstrated - once again - with his intervention to mediate in the resolution of this conflict.