The 2021 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) General Assembly will take place in Amman, Jordan, on Monday (11 October), with elections to the Executive Board highlighting the agenda in the 40^th birthday year of the organisation.

Ahead of the main meeting, a one-day IBSA Conference will be held on Sunday where the membership will receive updates about several important projects.

These include #IBSA40, which mark four decades since IBSA was established in Paris, France in 1981. The first World Blind Sports Day was held in April to kick-off the celebrations and later this year, seminars will be held for coaches, athletes and members with the aim of growing sports for people with visual impairments. The key figures who have also helped make IBSA into one of the world’s leading Para sports organisations will also be recognised.

2021 marks 75 years since goalball was invented by Germany’s Sepp Reindle and Austrian Hans Lorenzen to aid the rehabilitation of war veterans. Goalball is the original Paralympic team sport for athletes with visual impairments and recently celebrated its own World Goalball Day for the first time. The membership will hear more about how the sport is celebrating its landmark year.

Conference attendees will also receive a presentation from the Local Organising Committee for the 2023 IBSA World Games being held in Birmingham, Great Britain. The multi-sport event will feature competition in eight sports, including the men’s and women’s blind football World Championships and the men’s partially-sighted football World Championships.

An update will be given about the IBSA Judo classification research project, which has reached the next phase. Developed in consultation with the IBSA Membership, athletes, referees, coaches and classifiers, the draft revised Classification Rules for the sport will be highlighted and discussed ahead of another round of online discussion sessions.

Finally, the candidates for election to the IBSA Executive Board will get the chance to present to the membership to close the conference on Sunday ahead of Monday’s General Assembly.

The candidates are:

President:

• Sandro Di Girolamo (Italy)
• Jannie Hammershoi (Denmark)

Vice President:

• Ilgar Rahimov (Azerbaijan)
• Päivi Tolppanen (Finland)

Secretary General*:

• Sally Lamont (Romania)

Treasurer:

• Sally Lamont (Romania)
• Eren Yildirim (Turkey)

Member at large (five positions):

• Zdenek Barlok (Czech Republic)
• Vladimir Bazhenov (Russia)
• Angel Luis Gomez Blazquez (Spain)
• Ntouda Odi Jean Dieudonne (Cameroon)
• Robert Fenton (Canada)
• Yassir El Hanchi (Morocco)
• Ioanna Karyofylli (Greece)
• Alena Kurlovichi (Italy)
• Sally Lamont (Romania)
• Eigo Matsuzaki (Japan)
• Dr Ahmed Owin (Egypt)
• Bernardino Seixas (Angola)
• Hasan Sayyidan (Turkey)
• Päivi Tolppanen (Finland)
• Muhammad Waqas (Pakistan)

*A motion from the Executive Board has been submitted to dissolve the Secretary General position. If this is approved by the Membership, elections will not be held for this post.

The elections will be held on Monday afternoon, following the finance report and voting on motions from the Executive Board and membership.