From 4 to 15 September, all accredited athletes participating in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games had the chance to take part in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council Election.
A record number of 3,539 athletes (88,72 percent) in all three Paralympic Villages (Beijing, Hong Kong, Qingdao) voted for six of the 14 candidates running for the IPC Athletes' Council. By comparison, at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, 47,67 percent of all accredited athletes took the opportunity to vote.
Rutger Sturkenboom, IPC Athletes' Council Election Task Force Chairperson, stated: "It was a very successful election and an enriching experience for all members of the Election Task Force. We worked well as a team and had the great help of our BOCOG Volunteers."
Athletes elected to the IPC Athletes' Council include:
Teresa Perales, Spain, Swimming (1365 votes)
Marketa Sidkova, Czech Republic, Archery (1026 votes)
Yu Chui Yee, Hong Kong/China, Wheelchair Fencing (1015 votes)
Heinz Frei, Switzerland, Athletics (989 votes)
Robert Balk, USA, Athletics (920 votes)
David Smetanine, France, Swimming (918 votes)
One of the candidates (Ljiljana Ljubisic) had informed the IPC Governing Board prior to the counting of the votes that due to personal reasons, she withdrew her candidacy.
The IPC Athletes' Council (AC) is the collective voice of Paralympic athletes within the IPC and the greater Paralympic Movement. As the liaison between the IPC decision-makers and Paralympic athletes, the IPC AC works to provide effective input into decision-making at all levels of the organization. The Council is composed of nine Paralympic athlete representatives elected for a four-year term. Six athlete representatives are elected during the Paralympic Summer Games and three during the Paralympic Winter Games. The new IPC Athletes' Council Summer Representatives (2008-2012) will be announced and presented during the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony.
(BOCOG September 17, 2008)