MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) announced on Thursday its disappointment over a decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) against including Para Bobsleigh in the program of the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in China’s Beijing.
"Following the discussions of the last months with the IPC this came with a big surprise as the IBSF had been assured all relevant documents had been provided and criteria were met," the IBSF announced in a statement on Thursday.
"The IBSF will meet with the IPCґs leadership as soon as possible to further explore details of the decision taken," the statement added.
IBSF President Ivo Ferriani said commenting on the IPC decision that "it comes with a big surprise."
"I would be lying not to admit it is very disappointing," the IBSF official website quoted Ferriani as saying. "Nevertheless, we will work with the IPC to be included for 2026 and will not give up our Parasport program."
"It is important now to analyze where we need to improve and what to focus on for the upcoming years," Ferriani continued. "The IBSF has a full program for Para Bobsleigh for the upcoming seasons and will further support this discipline and the great athletes we have."
"For sure at the moment the disappointment is very big," the IBSF chief concluded.
According to the IPC official statement issued earlier in the day following its Executive Board’s meeting in Spain’s Madrid on September 10-11, a decision against including the Para Bobsleigh event into the program of the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing was made in line with the IPC Governing Board’s regulations.
"The IPC’s decision not to include Para bobsleigh in the Beijing 2022 Paralympics comes after the sport failed to meet one of the minimum requirements laid out by the IPC Governing Board in September 2016," the IPC said in its official statement.
"When the IPC provisionally approved the sport for inclusion it said a minimum of 12 nations from at least three regions should be regularly participating in each of the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons," the statement reads. "The sport has fallen short of this requirement."
During the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015, Beijing was elected the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games making the Chinese capital the first city ever to host both Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2008) as well as Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2022).
Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Olympics and Paralympics in a tight race over Kazakhstan’s Almaty in 2015, eventually securing 44 votes against 40 in support of the largest Kazakh city.