The 2000 Paralympic Games will be held Oct. 18-29 in Sydney, Australia. The Games will follow the Olympic Games and use many of the same venues. More than 5,000 athletes from 124 countries are expected to compete and 1,500 media representatives are expected to attend. The United States will have approximately 400 delegates in Sydney. If numbers do not change, the Sydney Games will have the largest participation in Paralympic history. (Atlanta hosted more than 4,000 athletes from 118 countries.)

Organisation

The Paralympics are recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and governed and sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), a member organisation of the IOC. International Federations (IFs), under IPC jurisdiction, represent 5 disability groups and provide the technical guidelines through sports technical delegates for classification criteria to the Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) currently resides in Brugge, Belgium, and is similar to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in form and function. It is an international non-profit organisation established for the purpose of governing and developing the world's elite disabled athletes and The Paralympic Games. English is the IPCs primary language. The IPC is formally recognised and funded, in part, by the International Olympic Committee. The IPC presides over five international federations representing 130 countries and 10,000,000 athletes worldwide.

Elite athletes wishing to compete must be members of one of the USOC/USPC affiliated Disabled Sports Organizations (DSOs) and qualify to participate through a trials process established by the DSO for their disability group. Sanctioning and approval of selected athletes is reviewed and affirmed by the USOC to ensure fair and adequate competition opportunity. Selection criteria establishing the guidelines for competition eligibility is developed by the USOC in coordination with IPC and IF regulations provided by the Paralympic Organising Committee. Functional classification guidelines are provided to the Paralympic Organising Committee from the International Federations which govern the individual sports.

The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy in 1960. Four hundred (400) athletes from 23 countries participated. Since their humble beginnings, the Paralympics have blossomed, growing in size and complexity to mirror that of the Olympic counterparts. The Paralympic Games are part and parcel of The Olympic Games and are held by the Olympic Host Country, following the Olympic Games. The Paralympics compete in the same venue and city as The Olympics. The Paralympic games have been held every Olympic year since 1960, usually in the city or country hosting the Olympic Games. The Seoul Olympic Organising Committee organised the 1988 Paralympics, held in Olympic venues two weeks after the Olympic Games. Barcelona and Lillehammer followed suit, hosting the summer and winter Paralympic games respectively, utilising a similar time frame.

The 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta hosted their competition and festivities 10 days after the Centennial Olympic Games concluded. The second largest sporting event in the world, and the largest Paralympic Games to date, over 3,500 athletes and support staff from 104 countries competed in 17 full medal and 2 exhibition events. The site was supported by 1,500 officials, 11,344 volunteers and 2,088 media members. President Bill Clinton served as Honorary Chairman for the Paralympic Games.

Following the theme "Triumph of the Human Spirit", the Paralympic Games are proud of the tradition they have established to bring elite disabled athletic competition to the forefront of public consciousness. Competitive sports have proved an effective vehicle to promote equality, inclusion, accessibility, and awareness about the capabilities of those with physical disability. Competitive sports dispel the age old stigma surrounding disability and illuminate the realm of possibility. The Paralympics truly signify all that is right in sport.

Special Note: The Paralympic Games are not the Special Olympics!

The Paralympics is truly a competition of elite, world class, well trained, disabled athletes as opposed to a participatory event where all who enter receive a medal for involvement. The term "Paralympic" actually means "next to" or "parallel" to the regular Olympics. The only difference in the two is that the Paralympics provide elite competition opportunity to athletes with a functional physical disability which precludes their involvement in open competition of the regular Olympics. Thus, the difference between the Paralympics and the Special Olympics is distinct and profoundly opposite.

Paralympic Mascot Lillie.