Tim Reddish, 66, former chairman of the British Paralympic Association, was elected by the IBSA Executive Board, as chairperson of the IBSA Legal and Ethics Committee (LEC).

The five-time medalist in three Paralympic Games (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sidney 2000) explained what his role will be in the near future.

“I have agreed that I will chair the LEC for a six-month period with a specific remit to undertake an audit of IBSA’s constitution, by – laws and policies to identify the future requirements, roles, and responsibilities of the LEC that will meet the needs of the IBSA Executive Board (EB), membership, and athletes.”

The importance of Ethics in sports is underlined by Mr. Reddish. “Like all international sports federations, it is good governance to review its own practices and procedures to ensure that the international federation keeps up to date with current legal and ethical requirements. I would like to thank the President and the EB for their support and confidence in me for undertaking this role. This is not an easy task as IBSA is a global international sports body, and my role will be to make suggestions and recommendations to the EB on IBSA’s responsibilities and requirements to fulfil its obligations in establishing a LEC that will be a credit to the organisation and give assurance to its membership of its integrity and that the athletes will have confidence in all the future functions of the LEC.”

Ethics is not all about what happens in the field of play. For Tim Reddish, not only coaches, athletes, and support staff must focus on these kinds of issues. “Rightly so, coaches, athletes, and support staff focus on what takes place on the field of play. As well as the sports-specific rules and regulations, every international sports federation requires good governance, integrity in its decision-making, and legal and ethical policies, procedures, and practices that everyone can have confidence in. Everyone involved within IBSA, whether they are an athlete, coach, or support staff, regardless of whether we are volunteers, has a responsibility to protect the integrity of our chosen sport, and my personal goal is to support the IBSA President and the EB in establishing their LEC that is respected by all and has the confidence of the athletes and the IBSA membership.”

The IBSA president, Mr. Ilgar Rahimov, stated about Tim Reddish’s election: “The Chairman of the Legal and Ethics Committee must be a completely independent, authoritative, and experienced person. That’s exactly what Tim is. Proof of this is his impartial, skillful, and sensitive leadership of the last IBSA Extraordinary General Assembly in Fatima.”