The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) has announced that its next General Assembly will take place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA in 2019.

The gathering will happen during the 2019 IBSA Goalball and Judo Paralympic Qualifying Competition from 29 June – 7 July. IBSA also confirmed that the 2019 World Games will be partially replaced by this tournament.

Jannie Hammershoi, IBSA President, said: “We are looking forward with great excitement to the summer of 2019 when we will get to gather athletes and our membership together in one place once again.

“The General Assembly will be an opportunity for all countries and sports to review and vote on the final version of IBSA’s strategy for the 2019-2024 period. Before then we will be reaching out to all of our partners and stakeholders with an opportunity to provide feedback on the principles and content of the plan.

“We are however conscious that our members were expecting there to be a full World Games next year. We are really disappointed that an edition with all sports will not take place. Unfortunately, whilst we did receive some interest for which we are very grateful, it was not possible to find a suitable host this time for such a large event.

“However instead we are offering the opportunity for all of our members to come and join us in Fort Wayne for what will be an interesting, informative and engaging General Assembly. As well as the strategy, other topics currently being considered include the direction of the sports and sport specific classification.

“We will launch the search for the hosts of the 2023 World Games later this year, so members can also be reassured that they will continue into the future.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) for hosting what I am sure will be a productive and enjoyable General Assembly and Paralympic qualifier.”

“The United States Association of Blind Athletes is very excited and honoured to host both the IBSA General Assembly and the IBSA Goalball and Judo Paralympic Qualifying Tournament in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; USA,” said Mark Lucas Co-Chair of the Local Organising Committee. “This is an incredible opportunity for the leaders of each of the nations to shape the direction of IBSA in the coming years while also staging a world-class event for athletes in the sports of goaball and judo to provide them the opportunity to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.”

The formal invitation for the 2019 IBSA General Assembly will be announced shortly.

Held every two years, the General Assembly is the supreme authority of IBSA. The last meeting was held in 2017 in Cluj Napoca, Romania, where the current Executive Committee was also elected.