IPC takes stock in Lille (France) Manuel Egido. B.S.I. Editorial The organizing committee of the candidature of LILLE (France) to hold the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games acted as host for an extraordinary meeting of the IPC Executive Committee last January. The interest aroused by this meeting was principally centred, on the one hand, on a recapitulation of the conclusions reached following the Atlanta Games and, on the other, on the Extraordinary General Assembly also held in Atlanta last August. Andrew Fleming, president of the Organizing Committee of the Atlanta Paralympic Games (APOC), handed over a cheque for 725,000 dollars to the IPC, thus liquidating the accounts for the Games. In addition, he presented a comprehensive, detailed report on the work carried out by the APOC from 1992 to 1996, which could serve as an historical reference and prove most useful to the organizers of "SYDNEY 2000". Moreover, the Medical Officer, Michael Riding, declared that they are working on plans to organise a coordinating body for the International Federations within the IPC Medical Department, at the suggestion of IBSA's Medical Officer, Vasilis Makris. IBSA's Executive Committee Meets in Rome IBSA Studies Reforms of its Statutes B.S.I. Editorial Staff The historical city of Rome provided the setting for the ordinary meeting of IBSA's Executive Committee on February 21st and 22nd. The committee members were welcomed by several personalities, amongst whom were MARIO PESCANTE, the President of the Italian Olympic Committee, in whose headquarters the meeting was held; ANTONIO VERNOLE, President of the Italian Disabled Sports Federation (FISD); and ORONZO CAPRIGLIA, President of the Italian Blind Sports Federation (FICS). Statute reform. One of the key issues at this Executive Committee meeting was the reform of the Statutes of the Association. Propositions were made and the debate remains open, given that such an important landmark requires much reflection on the part of all those involved. One of the fundamental points in the new statutes is that relating to the modernisation and professionalisation of IBSA's internal structures, as well as giving the image of the Association a face-lift. In Rome, however, a whole series of agreements were adopted, no less important and affecting the management of the Federation. To sum up: - Unanimous backing for the so-called "Lausanne Agreement", signed on February 17th between our Association and the International Paralympic Committee - IPC. Special mention was made of our gratitude to the President of the International Olympic Committee - IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, for his positive mediation which led to such an eagerly awaited agreement. - Another matter of interest was the appointment of GREG SCOTT, member-at-large of our Executive Committee, as liaison officer and contact with the Organising Committee of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games (SPOC). Initially, SCOTT will facilitate negotiations for those countries that are interested in organising pre-Paralympic training sessions in the Australian capital. - Finally, we wish to welcome the incorporation of BENIN, as a new member nation of IBSA. TOBOLSK B.S.I. Editorial Staff Following the invitation of the President of the Winter Disabled Sports Festival in Tobolsk (Siberia-Russia), ALEXANDRE TARABYKINE, the President of IBSA, Enrique Sanz, was in that city from December 1st to 7th to witness a truly spectacular sports competition and was able to appreciate the high standard of organisation at this great event. Also present were IBSA's Secretary General, Michel Berthézène, the European Regional Chairman, Bruno Meschiari, and the Chairman of the Nordic Skiing Subcommittee, Michel Romanet. Tobolsk was duly confirmed as the venue for IBSA's European Nordic Skiing Championships in 1997, from March 2nd to 9th. NEWS UPDATE Seville has been chosen as the venue for the absolute World Athletics Championships in 1999. BSI now available on diskette B.S.I. Editorial Staff As of this issue of Blind Sports International, a new version of our magazine sees the light of day on 3.5" computer disks. Those readers wishing to receive this format, whether in English or Spanish, may request it from: IBSA, Calle Quevedo, No. 1, Madrid 28014, Spain. This initiative complements the service offered as of last November: the inclusion on the IBSA Web site on Internet of the magazine contents in both languages. Through this channel, 'B.S.I.' is now available to hundreds of thousands of potential readers - the users of this worldwide network - who can reach us at the following address: http://www.ibsa.es. With this publication in ASCII format on floppy disk, the IBSA Presidency wishes to facilitate access to the contents of the magazine, particularly to the blind and visually impaired. Although many of them can do so through Internet, many others will find it much easier to use the diskettes as they are more appropriate for the typhlotechnical aids and adaptations commonly used: special computers, Braille lines, soundcards and character enlargers, Braille printers, etc. Those who do not have these facilities will be able to pass the diskette on to some association or organisation and ask them to print it out in Braille. This initiative is being adopted provisionally for the moment. Eugenio Martín - José P. González (ONCE) Not wishing to miss out on the new information and communications technologies, IBSA - as we informed our readers in the previous issue in November 1996 - has made available to all interested a new WEB site on INTERNET -http://www.ibsa.es- as well as an E-mail address for contacting us -MAILTO:ibsa@ibsa.es-. For all of you who, in one way or another, are advanced Web surfers we can now inform you that our site has been updated to include a comprehensive database covering the last Paralympic Games in ATLANTA as well as the BARCELONA '92 Games. We also provide the professional and sporting background of the most important blind and visually impaired athletes, as well as all the latest news relating to our Federation. As a novelty, we can now reveal that you will be able to enjoy the promotional commercial spots for blind sports produced by IBSA, which have proved so successful recently. Finally, we should like to receive any comments and suggestions you might have for our magazine BLIND SPORTS INTERNATIONAL. IBSA at the Spanish Sports Gala Pablo camiña. B.S.I. Editorial Staff Last January 31st, the traditional "Great Sports Gala" was organised by the prestigious sports daily "El Mundo Deportivo" at the Hotel "Rey Juan Carlos I" in Barcelona (Spain). At this ceremony, there was further proof of the progressive integration taking place within the sports sector in Spain with the WINTERTHUR TROPHY FOR THE MOST HUMANE, SPORTING GESTURE being awarded to the Spanish girl PURIFICACION SANTAMARTA (triple gold in Atlanta '96 in the 100, 200 and 400 metres B1 events). Other awardwinners included the Brazilian footballer RONALDO, the Spanish tennis player CARLOS MOYA - recently finalist at the Australian OPEN - and the motorcycle GP rider ALEX CRIVILLE. The act was chaired by Count de Godó, the editor of the publication. Amongst the personalities also present at the presidential table were MARIA TERESA SALISACHS de SAMARANCH, the wife of the President of the International Olympic Committee; Pedro Antonio Martín Marín, chairman of the National Sports Council (the maximum Spanish sports authority) and IBSA's President, Enrique Sanz. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 30 typed lines. They must be signed and include the adress and telephone number of the author. Letters may be mailed to "B.S.I., c/ Quevedo, 1 - 28014 Madrid Spain" or Faxed to us at: 34-1- 5894537. "THE ATLANTA CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM" Maite Espinosa Pozo. Sevilla (Spain) Dear Sir, The reason I am writing is to explain the circumstances surrounding the events that proved most detrimental to me at the Atlanta '96 Paralympic Games. Following a year of tough training, and academic and personal sacrifices, I found myself in the following situation: 1.- One month prior to my arrival at Atlanta, I received notice that I would have to compete against those of the B2 category (partially blind), when I belong to the B1 category (totally blind), thus placing me at an obvious disadvantage. 2.- Upon my arrival at Atlanta, I thought that my problem had been resolved, only to find that the situation continued as before. I was thus obliged to compete in the full knowledge, and well aware, that all my efforts would not even be rewarded with a medal. All this organizational chaos has caused me to ponder these questions and, unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that no less than one of the fundamental values and principles of the paralympic spirit, namely integration and normalization, had not been respected. This fact leads me to ask the following question: Will the next Paralympic Games be solely for the least disabled? It is my wish that this letter may serve to boost those events that are starting to suffer a lack of participants, in the hope that a higher standard than that which actually corresponds to each event is not demanded, as this would only lead to them disappearing.