IBSA NEWS NEWSLETTER FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BLIND SPORTS FEDERATION Nº 7 Welcome to IBSA News No 7. IBSA News is our regular newsletter aimed at keeping you informed of IBSA affairs and activities. You'll find up-to-date information on many recent IBSA events and news in this issue. We would like to thank those of you who have provided feedback and comments on past issues. Once again, if you have any comments to make, or wish to submit an article or news item, please address them to ibsa@ibsa.es . We look forward to hearing from you. You’ll find IBSA News in Word and text formats below for easy accessibility, and back issues of IBSA News can be downloaded from our website at www.ibsa.es. 2005 GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND BLIND SPORTS WORLD CONFERENCE The bidding process to host the 7th IBSA General Assembly and the first ever Blind Sports World Conference in 2005 is now entering the final stage. A number of countries have expressed interest in hosting this prestigious event and have submitted or are now preparing their bid documents. Please be reminded the deadline for the first phase of the bidding process is the 16th of August. For further information contact Mr. Alberto Bravo, IBSA Secretary General, at info@ibsa.es. 3rd IBSA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007 – UPDATE Bidding to host the 3rd IBSA World Championships in 2007, following on from the highly-successful Madrid 98 and Quebec 2003 events, is also coming to a close. Previous events featured athletics, swimming, goalball and judo (Madrid ’98), with the addition of cycling and powerlifting in Quebec 2003. Further information is available from the IBSA Secretary General at info@ibsa.es and the deadline for submitting bids is mid-August of this year. IBSA EXECUTIVE TO MEET IN ATHENS DURING PARALYMPIC GAMES The IBSA Executive Committee will hold an extraordinary meeting in Athens on Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of September. The committee will analyse the bids received to organise the 7th IBSA General Assembly and Blind Sports World Conference next year and take a final decision on the host country. All bids to host the 3rd IBSA World Championships 2007 will also be studied and a shortlist of possible hosts will be drawn up. The games will be granted to the successful bidder early next year after further analysis of the bid documents. GOALBALL REFEREES SEMINAR IN LITHUANIA A GREAT SUCCESS With the support of IBSA and thanks to IPC development funds, the Lithuanian Blind Sports Federation organised a highly successful clinic for Goalball referees in Vilnius from the 1st to the 5th of June. Twenty-eight participants from five countries took part in the seminars, aimed at certifying or recertifying IBSA level I, II and III goalball referees from Lithuania and other East European countries where goalball is being played in order to contribute in furthering the development and growth of the game in the East European region. The first two days were spent on the theoretical side of refereeing, after which the Course Conductor, Mr. Alexander Knext from Germany, chose thirteen candidates for the written test. The practical test took place during the International Men’s Goalball Tournament, held on the 4th and 5th of July, and twelve of the thirteen candidates passed the exam, thus ensuring a wider base of top quality officials in the region. In the words of Alexander Knext: “Conditions provided by the organisers of the Clinic created a very fruitful and efficient working atmosphere for all participants.” Mrs. Liudmila Hudilovitch, attempting to reach IBSA Level I at the seminar, commented: “...in Vilnius I was given a great opportunity to refresh and deepen my knowledge and gain more experience in qualified refereeing and coaching.” Finally, Mr. Raimundas Simkus, President of the Lithuanian Blind Sports Federation, added: “We are very happy and thankful indeed to IBSA and IPC for the opportunity granted to organise a Goalball Referees Clinic in Lithuania. It was an excellent opportunity to certify new goalball referees from Lithuania and other East European countries.” 2nd IBSA TENPIN BOWLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS USABA (United States Association of Blind Athletes) hosted the 2nd world championships in blind tenpin bowling from the 15th to the 19th of June. Bowlers from Europe, Asia, America and Oceania gathered in Orlando, Florida, for competition in singles, doubles and team events for men and women. For competition results, visit: http://www.ibsa.es/eng/noticias/noticia.asp?Idnoticia=219 IBSA ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR NEW SPORTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED IBSA is always looking to include new disciplines in its list of official sports in order to provide as wide a range of sporting opportunities to blind and partially sighted athletes world-wide as possible. To this end, IBSA and IPEC (International Paralympic Equestrian Committee) jointly organised a seminar on equestrian sport for the blind in Belgium. The following is a report on the clinic from Secretary General Mr. Alberto Bravo. EQUESTRIAN FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED RIDERS Equestrian can be considered a high risk sport. However, it can be perfectly practiced by a B1 and B2 rider without much difficulty. The President of the Equestrian Paralympic Committee (IPEC) Ms. Jonquil Solt reflects on this issue stating that we should remember horses used for dressage can see, therefore, the rider has an additional advantage to its personal talent. On May 20 – 24, in the city of Moorsele, Belgium, the International Paralympic Dressage Competition and Dressage Clinic for Visually Impaired Riders took place organized by Quadrille and the Belgian Paralympic Committee. In this event, four blind riders competed in Grade III: Nathalie Bizet (France), San Groeneveld (Netherlands) Lon Maijen (Netherlands), Anne Cecilia Ore (Norway). Currently, blind riders compete against non-disabled and other Paralympic riders. IBSA President, Enrique Pérez Bazán and I, as Secretary General, attended the Clinic to put into motion the official process of incorporation of Equestrian as a new IBSA sport. We had the opportunity to enjoy the magnificent premises of Quadrille and the warm welcome of Mr. Lucien de Bels, Secretary of the Organizing Committee. We also had a meeting with the President of our association member in Belgium, Dr. D. Jaeken, who provided us with valuable information on the sport in that country. The result of the meetings held with Ms. Jonquil Solt (IPEC), Mr. Ulf Wilken (President of the Training Committee IPEC) and other members of the Committee lead us to conclude that we can count on the co-operation of IPEC working together with IBSA in a common development plan successful in the mid term. The inclusion of Equestrian as IBSA official sport will allow us to identify potential elite riders who are now practicing this sport as recreational in the 107 country members constituting our federation. Equestrian as a new IBSA sport should finally be approved by the 7º IBSA General Assembly which will take place next year. ENGLISH FA LAUNCH 3RD IBSA FOOTBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS B2/B3 The 3rd IBSA Football World Championships for the partially sighted (B2/B3 category) were officially launched at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. The championships will be held at the Velodrome in East Manchester between the 11th and the 18th of December 2004 and follow on from the highly successful B1 European Championships at the same venue last July. As part of the launch event a three-way mini tournament involving the England B2/B3 team, an FA Partners team and a squad made up of national media representatives was contested. The championships were officially launched prior to the tournament by Trevor Brooking, FA Director of Football Development. The 3rd IBSA Football World Championships for the partially sighted will bring together the best teams in the world, pitting the hosts against such countries as the reigning champions Belarus, South American champions Brazil and Spain. The event will be the biggest ever disability football event staged in Great Britain. For further information, contact Tournament Director Jon Dutton at: jon.dutton@manchesterfa.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for taking the time to read IBSA News. We hope you enjoyed it. If you have any articles or news for publication in the next issue, please send them to ibsa@ibsa.es. If you would like to receive IBSA News at a different E-mail address, or know someone who would like to be added to the IBSA News mailing list, please contact us.