From this Saturday, 17 June 2017, Badminton Europe (BEC) is officially a member of the European Paralympic Committee (EPC). BEC was accepted unanimously by the delegates at the 12th EPC General Assembly in Katowice, Poland.
Para-badminton in Europe falls under the governance of BEC and our Para-Badminton Commission is chaired by BEC Vice-President João Matos, to represent European para-badminton players.
“Badminton Europe is very much looking forward to the cooperation with the European Paralympic Committee on this new status as a full member to the benefit of all athletes with a disability.” says João Matos after the General Assembly.
“Their expertise would be an asset for us on the best way to make our debut with Para-badminton in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and we also would try to contribute - the best way we know how - to the success of EPC on promoting the Paralympic Movement.”
Matos took part in the General Assembly in Poland, and could proudly accept the ratification in front of all the delegates.
João Matos addressing the assembly and presenting
the organisation of BEC to the members before the formal vote.
BEC was not the only organisation to join the EPC this weekend. The International Federation of CP Football was also accepted into the committee. The two new members join the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation European Zone as the only three Independent Paralympic Sports Federations that are members of EPC.
Now, EPC has 56 members, which besides the three mentioned above, consist of national Paralympic committees and the European branches of four disability-specific International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled (International Blind Sports Federation European Continental Delegation, International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports Federation, and, Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association).
Many of national member associations of Badminton Europe are also a part of EPC. Find the list of EPC members
here.
Para-Badminton will be a part of the Paralympics for the first time in 2020. Currently, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Badminton World Federation (BWF) are in the process of agreeing on the sports programme for the upcoming Paralympics. Read more about the process leading up to Tokyo 2020 by clicking
here.