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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the official title of the event?

2011 IPC Athletics World Championship

What does IPC stand for?

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 162 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. The organization has a democratic constitution and structure, made up of elected representatives.
Further details can be found at www.paralympic.org

How many IPC Athletics World Championships have there been and how often are they held?

The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships will be the sixth event and events are held every four years.

When will the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship be held?

Where will the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship take place?

The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship will be held in QEII Stadium in the district of New Brighton, Christchurch.

QEII is located 11 km from the central business district, about 15 minutes by bus. It has a mondo track and seating for 14,000 spectators. It also has a major aquatic centre adjacent to the stadium

Who is the host organizer of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship?

Paralympics New Zealand as the National Paralympic Committee, affiliated to International Paralympic Committee, is the host organiser of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship. The legal entity set up is the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships Limited. (IPCAWC)

Who will manage the organization of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship?

IPCAWC have appointed Neil Blanchfield of Great Events Ltd to provide the event management services.

Who is responsible for the operational organisation of the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship?

The Event Advisory Committee that is directed by Neil Blanchfield. This committee includes members of Athletics NZ, Canterbury Athletics, Paralympians, and  people who have a range of event experience eg World Wheelchair Games (staged in Christchurch in 1999 and 2003), World Wheelchair Rugby Championships (staged in Christchurch in 2007). , the Boccia World Cup (staged in Christchurch in 2003) and the IPC World Swimming Championships (staged in Christchurch in 1998)

How many athletes and officials are expected at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship?

Around 1200 athletes and about 900 officials are expected to attend this event. In addition up to 40 international officials (classifiers, medical and doping, and Athletics) will attend. There will also be a large number of Australian track and field officials attending to assist the New Zealand Officials to stage the track and field events.

Will there be top international athletes competing?

This event is a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and it is therefore expected that all the top elite athletes aspiring to compete in London will attend from around the World.

When are the entries due from National Paralympic Committees?

When will the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship Classification and Pre- Event training commence?

Pre-event training at the competition venue starts from Monday 17 January 2011.  
Classification is scheduled to be held over the period from Monday 17 January to Friday 21 January 2011.

What are the Championships Qualification Criteria?

The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships Qualification Criteria document has been updated including the medal event programme and qualification standards. The document has been provided together with a medal events programme explanatory paper prepared by the IPC Athletics working group click here.

What is the Event criteria for Athletes with an intellectual Impairment?

This is now on the IPC website. For this information click here to view.

Has the schedule of events been announced?

The preliminary competition schedule was released on April 29 2010. Visit the IPC website.

How many spectators are expected at the IPC Athletics World Championship 2011?

It is anticipated that 5000 people per day will attend the event.

When will tickets for the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship be available for purchase?

Information on ticketing will be available from 1 July 2010.

Will the competition be televised?

The Organising Committee will be seeking to produce live coverage, a daily highlights package which will be offered to networks world wide, as well as a 52 to 104 minutes international highlights package, summarizing the whole event.
Coverage will also be available on the IPC’s Internet TV Channel for Paralympic sports.

How many media representatives will be coming to Christchurch?

It is expected that a broad contingent of media covering the electronic and print media will come to Christchurch to cover this event.

How close is the accommodation to the Athletics Track?

The hotels being used (at least 3 star accommodation) are centrally located. Most will be within a short walk of Cathedral Square, the centre of the city and its Central Business District. QE11 is about 12 minutes drive from the city centre and the hotels.

How do we book Accommodation?

The National Paralympic Committees (NPC) will deal directly with Southern World (the Official 2011 NZ appointed Travel Company) who offer a range of accommodation packages. NPCs must utilise this service and payments will be made directly with the travel company. Families wishing to travel to New Zealand to support their competitors can access this accommodation service.

Meals

All breakfasts and dinners will be served at the hotels each team is staying in. Lunches will be provided by the local organising committee. Special dietary needs will be catered for. 

Transport

All athletes and officials will be met at the airport and transferred to their hotel. All transport to and from the training/competition venue will be provided by the Organising Committee. There is no charge to the athlete for this service. This will be a shuttle service servicing all the official hotels. The buses will be suitable to carry wheelchair passengers. This transport is not available for family members. Public transport is available from the central city to the gates of the stadium.

How accessible is Christchurch for athletes with a disability?

Christchurch is a very flat city and all the public facilities and hotels that the event will use are accessible to athletes with a disability. The buses will be “kneeling” buses which will allow athletes in chairs to roll on and off with out need for ramps (in most situations)

What other facilities are there for available for purposes prior to the competition?

As part of the planning, a second 8 lane track will be laid adjacent to the QE11 stadium which means in the week prior to the event there will be 2 tracks available for the athletes to train on, as well as additional throwing circles.  The city is well used by cyclists, and wheelchair athletes will find many areas to go for a long ride on the well marked roads. Hagley Park in the central city is also a very good location for athletes to train, or have light exercise on well laid tracks and paths.

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