IWAS World Games

The IWAS World Games, formerly known as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games, the Stoke Mandeville Games, and the World Wheelchair Games (in the 60s and 70s often referred to as the Wheelchair Olympics), are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability.

The Games were originally held in 1948 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who organized a sporting competition involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at the rehabilitation hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Stoke Mandeville, England. In 1952, the Netherlands joined in the games, creating the first international competition for the disabled. In 1960, the Ninth Stoke Mandeville Games were held in Rome, Italy, following that year's Olympic Games. These are considered to be the first Paralympic Games.

While the Paralympic Games evolved to include athletes from all disability groups, the Stoke Mandeville games continued to be organized as a multi-sport event for wheelchair athletes. Games were held annually in Stoke Mandeville under the direction of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), which became the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF).

In 1999, the first World Wheelchair Games were held outside England, in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2003, the Games were again held in Christchurch, and combined with a competition for amputee athletes organized by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled. In 2004, ISMWSF and ISOD merged to create the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). The first IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games were held in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The second Games were held in 2007 in Chinese Taipei and the third games were held in Bangalore, India in November 2009.

Games by year (incomplete)

• 1948 - Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralysed ^[1] July 28, 1948, archery competition, 16 competitors^[2] (14 men, 2 women^[3])
• 1949 - Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1950 - Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1951 - Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1952 - Stoke Mandeville, England - First International Stoke Mandeville Games^[4] A Dutch team participated, making it an international event^[2]
• 1953 - 2nd International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1954 - 3rd International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1955 - 4th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1956 - 5th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1957 - 6th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1958 - 7th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1959 - 8th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1960 Rome, Italy - 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games - later known as the 1st Paralympic Games^[5]
• 1961 - 10th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1962 - 11th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1963 - 12th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1964 Tokyo, Japan - 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralysed - later known as the 2nd Paralympic Games^[6]
• 1965 - 14th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1966 - 15th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1967 - 16th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1968 Tel Aviv, Israel - 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games^[7] - later known as the 3rd Paralympic Games
• 1969 - 18th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1970 - 19th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1971 - 20th International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1972 Heidelberg, Germany^[8] – 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games^[7] - later known as the 4th Paralympic Games
• 1973 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1974 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1975 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1977 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1978 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1979 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1981 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1982 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1983 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1985 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1986 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1987 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1989 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1990 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1991 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1993 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1994 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1995 - International Stoke Mandeville Games
• 1997 - World Wheelchair Games
• 1998 - World Wheelchair Games
• 1999 - World Wheelchair Games
• 2001 - World Wheelchair Games
• 2002 - World Wheelchair Games
• 2003 - World Wheelchair Games^[9]
• 2004 - World Wheelchair Games
• 2005 - World Wheelchair and Amputee Games^[10] - in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over 700 athletes from 44 nations. Five events: track and field, table tennis, archery, shooting, and billiards.^[11]
• 2006
• 2007 - World Wheelchair and Amputee Games^[12]
• 2008
• 2009 - IWAS World Games - ^[13][14][15]
• 2011 - IWAS World Games - Sharjah,  United Arab Emirates - 1–10 December 2011^[16]

References

1. ^ Paralympics: Where Heroes Come, by Dr. Robert Steadward and Cynthia Peterson. Edmonton, Alberta: One Shot Holdings Ltd., 1997, melazerte.com, May 30, 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} Remembering Paralympics past, BBC, July 15, 2008
3. ^ Canada Remembers - Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games - Canadian Soldier - Olympians - The Paralympic Games), Veteran Affairs Canada
4. ^ Chronology of Events in the Development of Wheelchair Basketball, International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF)
5. ^ Rome 1960, International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
6. ^ The Thirteenth International Stoke Mandeville Games for The Paralysed, dinf.ne.jp, March 17, 1999
7. ^ ^{a b} Summer Games Governance 1960 to 1992, International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)
8. ^ 21st Wheelchair Olympics, by Charles J. Bierbauer, The Pittsburgh Press, August 1, 1972, Google News Archive Search
9. ^ 2003 World Wheelchair Games / Jeux Mondiaux 2003, Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association
10. ^ 2005 World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, cwsa.ca
11. ^ 21. Sports - Accomplishments Abroad - The First IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, gio.gov.tw
12. ^ Singapore wins 14 medals at World Wheelchair and Amputee Games 2007, sglead.wordpress.com, September 18, 2007
13. ^ IWAS World Wheelchair & Amputee Games 2009, Bangalore, INDIA, International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)
14. ^ The Official Website of IWAS World Games 2009
15. ^ IWAS World Games 2009, International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), November 24, 2009
16. ^ IWAS announced today that the bid to host the IWAS World Games, International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), February 8, 2011

• Summer Games Governance 1960 to 1992, IWAS

External links

• Official website of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)
• "2012 – The Paralympics come home", BBC, July 4, 2008. A look back at the origins of the Stoke Mandeville Games.