A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states . The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the Olympic Games , first held in modern times in 1896 in Athens, Greece , and inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games , one of a number of such events held in antiquity. Most modern multi-sport events have the same basic structure. Games are held over the course of several days in and around a "host city", which changes for each competition. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes and teams that compete in a wide variety of sports. Athletes or teams are awarded gold , silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. Each game is generally held every four years, though some are annual competitions.
30-656: The European Para Championships is a multi-sport event contested by para-athletes from European nations. The championships have been awarded the status of regional games by the European Paralympic Committee and offer qualification opportunities for the Paralympic Games . The Championships are partly analogous with the European Games , taking place a year before the Paralympic Games and endorsed by
60-586: A disability, which are predominantly limited to a single sport or disability (as well as the International Olympic Committee , which relies on separate member sanctioning bodies representing each Olympic sport). A fifteen-member Governing Board oversees the IPC between meetings of the General Assembly. Robert D. Steadward became the first President in 1989. Since 2017, Andrew Parsons is President of
90-630: A selected group of athletes, rather than everybody, which was the case with the Olympic Games. The Soviets organized the first Spartakiad in 1920, a communist alternative to the 'bourgeois' Olympic Games, and in 1922 the University Olympia was organizedor in Italy , the forerunner of the World University Games , meant for students only. Regional games were another kind of multi-sport event that
120-533: Is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports. Founded on 22 September 1989 in Düsseldorf , West Germany , its mission is to "enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world". Furthermore, the IPC aims to promote
150-642: The British Paralympic Association and UK Sport to assist in spinning off World Para Athletics and World Para Swimming as independent federations that would be based in Manchester . Para dance sport was transferred to World Abilitysport (formerly IWAS) in 2024. Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Athletics Championships , World Para Athletics European Championships and other competitions. Supervises and co-ordinates
180-660: The World Para Dance Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed from "wheelchair dance sport" to "Para dance sport" due to the IPC's desire to expand the sport beyond wheelchair users. Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Ice Hockey Championships and other competitions. With the November 2016 rebranding, the official name of the sport was changed from "sledge hockey" to "Para ice hockey". This change
210-730: The EPC, and with the European Championships in that they represent a combination of selected European championships in different sports. The event is founded by Eric Kersten from the Netherlands. In 2019, he started with the idea of combining different European Championships in parasports after his company Team TOC organized the World Archery Championships back to back with the World Para Archery Championships in
240-553: The IPC maintains an active Instagram among other social media channels to share updates. The Paralympics and other sport events related to the Paralympic movement are broadcast on ParalympicSportTV, an internet TV channel for Paralympic sports created by the IPC. In June 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that
270-689: The IPC's governance "created perceptions of conflict of interest, disparity in the application of resources, a sense of unfairness between the IPC Sports and those which are not and confusion about the IPC’s role, all of which is impacting its reputation." In July 2022, the IPC transferred governance of skiing, snowboard, and biathlon to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and International Biathlon Union (IBU) respectively, and in June 2023 appointed
300-442: The IPC, and there are three disability specific organizations, while the IPC has served as the international federation for multiple sports. As of 2021, the IPC governed Paralympic alpine skiing, athletics, biathlon, cross country skiing, sledge hockey (Para ice hockey), powerlifting, shooting (shooting Para sport), snowboarding, swimming, and wheelchair dancesport (Para dance sport). On 30 November 2016, to distinguish them from
330-736: The IPC. The International Paralympic Committee has had three presidents to date. Its founding president, who presided over it from 1989 to 2001, was the Canadian Robert Steadward , who had previously founded the Canadian Sports Fund for the Physically Disabled. He was succeeded in 2001 by Philip Craven , a British Paralympian and former President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation , who served as president until 2017. Craven
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#1732852529003360-597: The Olympiade de la République in France in the 1800s. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at multi-sport events were almost exclusively male. As international women's sport began to develop, events such as the Women's World Games and Olympics of Grace were held to allow women to engage in sport on the international stage. Though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over
390-921: The Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities and is organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome , Italy . The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago , Illinois, in 1968. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming, Austria involved 25 sports and approximately 2,277 athletes from 133 countries. At
420-555: The Paralympic Games, the IPC adopted the new blanket branding World Para Sports , with the subcommittees rebranded accordingly. It also renamed three sports to align with this new name; Paralympic shooting was renamed to "shooting Para sport" (to reduce confusion with parachuting ), wheelchair dancesport became "Para dance sport" (as the committee expressed interest in governing dancesport for other classifications besides wheelchair), and sledge hockey became "Para ice hockey" (for both branding and linguistic reasons). Sports contested in
450-466: The Paralympic values and to create sport opportunities for all persons with a disability, from beginner to elite level. The IPC has a democratic constitution and structure and is composed of representatives from 183 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), four international organizations of sport for the disabled (IOSDs) and five regional organizations. The IPC's headquarters is located in Bonn, Germany . On
480-757: The Summer Paralympics began using the new branding immediately. For winter sports, whose competitive seasons had already started by the announcement, only the world championships were immediately changed to reflect the new branding; the full switchover did not occur until the 2017–18 season. In December 2021 during its virtual General Assembly, the IPC voted on a mandate to transfer its international governance of Paralympic sports to independent bodies by 2026, either by transferring them to an existing governing body, or spinning off subcommittees as independent federations. A governance review published in October 2019 found that
510-557: The basis of being able to organize the Paralympic Games more efficiently and to give the Paralympic movement one voice, the four international organizations of sports for the disabled founded the International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports Organizations for the Disabled (ICC) in 1982. In the upcoming years, other organizations joined and the need for a democratically guided organization emerged, as demanded by
540-629: The beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event, the Nordic Games were first held. These Games were held in Scandinavia , and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating . The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games . In the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for
570-456: The board. The IPC has an honorary board of distinguished individuals who support the IPC's goals and use their profile to raise funds and awareness for its work. Current honorary board members are: Chronology of milestones in the development of the International Paralympic Committee and the Summer and Winter Paralympics . The IPC publishes The Paralympian three times a year. In addition,
600-827: The city centre of Den Bosch . The championships are planned to be held on a four-year cycle, taking place in the year proceeding the Summer Paralympic Games . The first edition of the championships was held in August 2023 in Rotterdam , Netherlands . As of February 2024, Turkey and Germany are bidding to host the 2027 edition. The sports contested at the first European Para Championships are: para archery , para badminton , boccia , para cycling , goalball , para judo , para shooting , para taekwondo , wheelchair basketball , and wheelchair tennis . Multi-sport event The Ancient Olympic Games , first held in 776 BC,
630-582: The course of the 20th century. Although the modern tradition commemorates the 1921 revolution , the Naadam festival in Mongolia is a continuation of ancient sporting practises amongst Mongolians. The three events of wrestling, horse racing and archery are thought to date back centuries and represent the three most important pursuits of a strong man in nomadic society. Alongside these sporting events there are other cultural activities such as dances and parades. Since
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#1732852529003660-458: The establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences and participating countries or communities. These affiliations include: The first modern multi-sport event organised were the Olympic Games, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (est. 1894) for the first time in 1896 in Athens , Greece . After some celebrations (1900, 1904),
690-598: The first Games for deaf athletes. The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games , incepted in 1948 in England, were the first Games for wheelchair athletes. In 1960, the first Paralympic Games were held, connected with the Olympic Games . The Special Olympics World Games , for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were first held in 1968. International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee ( IPC ; German : Internationales Paralympisches Komitee )
720-503: The nations participating in the Paralympic Movement. They desired a democratic structure, to improve national and regional representation, which led to the foundation of the IPC as it is known today. The 1994 Winter Paralympics , in Norway, were the first to be organized by the IPC. The IPC functions as an umbrella organization, representing several sports and disabilities, in contrast to other international sports organizations for athletes with
750-656: The staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games . The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. However, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee (SLOC), chose to follow the practice of "one bid, one city" already at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, with one Organizing Committee for both Games, which
780-728: Was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games (1913), the Central American and Caribbean Games (1926) or the Pan American Games (1951). The Olympic Games are still the largest multi-sport event in the world in terms of worldwide interest and importance (though no longer in participation), but several others also have significance. Other Games are intended for handicapped or disabled athletes. The International Silent Games , first held in Paris in 1924, were
810-537: Was followed up by the 2004 Games in Athens and Beijing in 2008. The agreement was adjusted in 2003. An extension was signed in June 2006. A further extension was signed in 2012, valid until 2020. In March 2018, a historic long-term extension was signed establishing a partnership until 2032. The NPCs receive financial support for the training and development of Paralympic teams, Paralympic athletes and Paralympic hopefuls. There are 17 international federations recognized by
840-627: Was made upon the request of the sport's community, partly due to the word "sledge" having different meanings across languages. Supervises and co-ordinates the World Para Powerlifting Championships and other competitions. Supervises and co-ordinates the World Shooting Para Sport Championships and other competitions. The rebranding saw the sport renamed as "shooting Para sport" to avoid possible confusion with parachuting . Supervises and co-ordinates
870-708: Was succeeded by Brazil's Andrew Parsons , who was IPC Vice President from 2013 to 2017 and a former President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee . The IPC Governing Board consists of 14 members, of which 12 are elected at the General Assembly, including the President and Vice President. The most recent election for the Governing Board was held on 12 December 2021: The IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson, Jitske Visser , and IPC Athletes' Council First Vice Chairperson, Josh Dueck , also have voting rights on
900-803: Was the precursor to the Modern Olympic Games , although its first edition only featured a footrace and the number of sporting competitions expanded at later editions. There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era : Other multi-sport festivals emerged in the Middle Ages in Europe, including the Cotswold Olimpick Games in England in the 1600s, the Highland Games in Scotland , and
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