The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the promotion and strengthening of the sport for athletes with visual impairments.

President of the IPF said:

This is another milestone for our sport and strong message that the sport of powerlifting is unifying all kind of abilities – powerlifting is a Sport for All

With this intensive cooperation we bring now together another puzzle piece to coordinate powerlifting events for all different formats of our sport as we already have a cooperation with Special Olympics and to integrate also blind powerlifting will show the universality of our sport

IBSA President Jannie Hammershoi added:

IBSA is delighted to partner with the IPF to help grow powerlifting for people with visual impairments, and involve more athletes and officials in this great sport.

As the world’s leading organisation for the development of blind sports, we are happy to work with a body that shares our values and aims to make powerlifting more accessible, as well as getting the lifters we represent in front of as many people as possible.

IBSA is responsible for the governance, development and growth of powerlifting for blind athletes around the globe, as well as eight other Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports. In addition it advocates for greater representation and equality for athletes with visual impairments, as well as providing advice and expertise to other organisations in areas such as classification and accessibility.

Both organisations are now working to find synergies in refereeing, training and competitions as well as in structural matters to optimise the conditions for all athletes in their respective federation. Another goal of both the IPF as well as IBSA is to use their social media and reach to optimise visibility in the world of sport.