Countdown to IPC Swimming World Championships
With nine days to go before the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships begin, athletes are making their way to the host city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
A total of 655 athletes from 54 different countries will be participating inside the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, competing for the gold, silver and bronze medal in their respective event. The number of participating athletes and countries in Eindhoven will be one of the largest of any previous Swimming World Championships.
Taking place from 15-21 August, many of the athletes have competed previously at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, 2009 IPC Swimming European Championships in Iceland, 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships Short Course in Brazil, and the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup in Great Britain.
Seeing more coverage than any previous IPC Swimming World Championships, the IPC’s official internet channel www.ParalympicSport.TV will have a live stream of the competitions available everyday, giving Paralympic fans around the world a chance to watch the action as it happens. The daily live stream will include all heats from 9:00 – 12:00 CET and all finals from 17:00 – 21:00 CET. Highlights clips will also be made available on the IPC YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ParalympicSportTV.
Other broadcasters in Eindhoven include Great Britain’s Channel 4, the official broadcaster of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Channel 4 will be creating a sports highlights show that follows the progress of Great Britain’s team to be broadcast on 30 August. London 2012 Paralympic Games Ambassador Ade Adepitan will be presenting the highlights show, with British Paralympian Giles Long acting as reporter.
On 19 August, Channel Four will also offer a live stream on their website at www.channel4.com.
Australia’s broadcaster ABC will broadcast 45 minutes of highlights every day between 18:30 and 19:15 on ABC2 from 16-22 August. Broadcasters from Brazil and Spain will also be in Eindhoven covering the World Championships.
Additionally, the IPC has launched an official IPC Swimming Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/IPCSwimming, which at the moment focuses on the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships, with full coverage, photos and videos. The page will be ideal for not only athletes and coaches, but also Paralympic fans who want to experience the anticipation of the World Championships in the Netherlands.
Interested journalists can still apply for media accreditation via the organizing committee by sending an email to accreditation@wkzwemmen2010.nl.
The World Championships are organized with the help of the NPC the Netherlands, the Foundation WC Swimming 2010, Disabled Sports the Netherlands, the city of Eindhoven, and the Dutch Swimming Federation (KNZB).
For more information about the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships and to purchase tickets to the event, please visit www.wcswimming2010.com.
For more information about IPC Swimming, please visit the official website at www.ipc-swimming.org.
To find the qualification rankings for IPC Swimming, please visit http://www.ipc-swimming.org/rankings/.
Become a fan of the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships on Facebook! Visit www.facebook.com/IPCSwimming.
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Notes to the Editor:
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 167 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.
For further information, please contact Eva Werthmann, IPC Media Manager on e-mail: eva.werthmann@paralympic.org or go to www.paralympic.org or www.ParalympicSport.TV.
