No sailing for Paralympics 2020

The peak body of sail, the ISAF, says it is extremely disappointed to receive the news from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) that sailing will not be included in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Sailing adds a unique element to Paralympic sport through open events that include athletes with a broad range of disabilities. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, 23 nations from four continents were represented across the three paralympic events. Every effort will be made to reinstate sailing to the Paralympic Games, ISAF said in a press release.

The IPC Governing Board approved six sports for inclusion in the Games on January 31, adding to the 16 sports that were ratified and announced after its meeting in October 2014. A maximum of 23 sports could have been included for 2020.

 The 22 sports that will be included in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are: athletics, archery, badminton, boccia, canoe, cycling, equestrian, football five-a-side, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

 The two sports not included in Tokyo 2020 are football seven-a-side and sailing.

Sir Philip Craven, IPC President, said: "I would like to thank all 24 sports for applying for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and pass on my congratulations to the 22 sports that have been approved by the IPC Governing Board. In particular, I'd like to pay testament to the sports of badminton and taekwondo for the work they have undertaken in securing their place at a Paralympic Games for the first time.

 "To reach this decision, the IPC undertook the most extensive and rigorous review process ever of all the sports which started in November 2013.

 "All were assessed against the same criteria and our aim all along has been to ensure that the final Tokyo 2020 Paralympic sports programme is fresh and features the best para-sports possible.

 "The Board's final decision was not an easy one and, after much debate, we decided not to include two sports, football seven-a-side and sailing, from the Tokyo 2020 programme for the same reason. Both did not fulfil the IPC Handbook's minimum criteria for worldwide reach."

 The IPC Handbook states only team sports widely and regularly practised in a minimum of 24 countries and three IPC regions will be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Games and for individual sports a minimum of 32 countries in three IPC regions.

 Sir Philip Craven added: "Although the IPC Governing Board approved the inclusion of cycling, it did express serious reservations regarding the sustainability of the track cycling discipline.

"While a decision on the Tokyo 2020 medal events programme will not be made until 2017, the Board encourages the UCI to work towards increasing both the number of high-performance track cyclists and the number of opportunities for them to compete at an international level."

Twenty four sports were eligible to apply for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Following the submission of applications from the eligible sports, the IPC management team undertook a rigorous assessment of all applications. Sports were assessed for worldwide participation in terms of countries and continents, where the sport is regularly practiced, quadrennial competition programme, athlete classification, anti-doping programme, rules and regulations, and initiatives undertaken to make their sport more attractive.

 On completion of the review process, the IPC management team made recommendations to the IPC Governing Board ahead of their October 2014 meeting in Berlin, Germany, where 16 sports were approved for inclusion.

 The eight sports that were not approved at October's meeting were asked to provide additional information to the IPC addressing issues identified in their applications. This information was reviewed and a further analysis provided to the IPC Governing Board ahead of this week's meeting.

The IPC Governing Board then decided which of the eight remaining sports should be included in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games which will be held from August 25 to September 6, 2020.