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International Virtus Sports Federation

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Not to be confused with Special Olympics.

Virtus Sport (INAS)
Founded1986
TypeNot-for-profit organisation for intellectual disability
FocusSport, disability
Location
  • UK
Area served
Worldwide
Members
c. 500,000
Key people
President – Marc Truffaut (France)
Executive Director – Nick Parr (UK)
Websitehttps://www.virtus.sport/
Formerly called
INAS-FID, INAS-FMH
Member of International Paralympic Committee

Virtus Sport (formerly INAS or INAS Sport) (International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability; originally called INAS-FMH, later INAS-FID, INAS and now as Virtus Sport) is a federation which was established in 1986 by professionals in the Netherlands who were involved in sport and wanted to promote the participation of athletes with mental handicap in elite sports (intellectual impairment).

The organisation uses the brand name Virtus to promote sport worldwide for athletes with intellectual disability, autism and Down syndrome.[1]

It provides competition opportunities for elite athletes with an intellectual disability in Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports and is different from Special Olympics, which provides non-elite opportunities worldwide.

Names

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  1. INAS-FMH – 1986–1994
  2. INAS-FID – International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID): 1994–?
  3. INAS – International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability: ?–2019
  4. Virtus Sport – 2019–present

History

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The founding meeting of the first Executive Committee took place in January 1986 and after which the organisation became a member of the ICC– the International Coordinating Committee– the organisation that later became the International Paralympic Committee.

INAS' original membership was 14 nations which has grown into around 80 nations today.

In 1989, the 1st World Games for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability were held in Harnosand, Sweden and in 1992, immediately after the Barcelona Paralympic Games, the first Paralympic Games for 'Persons with mental handicap' were held in Madrid.[2]

In 1994, INAS-FMH became INAS-FID – the 'International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability' and in 1996, for the first time, a small programme of events for athletes with an intellectual disability was included in the Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

A larger programme including athletics, swimming and basketball was included in the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000, but it soon emerged that a small number of athletes had cheated the system of determining eligibility, resulting in the suspension of events – a suspension that was to remain in place until 2012.

Despite exclusion from the Paralympic Games, the INAS sport programme continued to grow considerably to incorporate more than 10 sports whilst its membership grew to cover all 5 continents.

Eligibility and classification

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Athletes with an intellectual disability are characterised by an IQ of 75 or below, significant limitations in Adaptive Behaviour and the disability must be present before the age of 18. This is based on the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability's definition of intellectual disability.

Recognized sports

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Sports:[3]

Core sports

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  1. Athletics
  2. Basketball
  3. Cricket
  4. Cycling
  5. Equestrian
  6. Football/futsal
  7. Judo
  8. Rowing
  9. Skiing
  10. Swimming
  11. Table tennis
  12. Tennis

Partnerships with international federations

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  1. Golf
  2. Karate
  3. Para-hockey
  4. Sailing
  5. Taekwondo

Current activities

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Today's sport programme includes some 15 annual events, and more than 4000 athletes are registered to compete at an international level, while thousands of people with an intellectual disability receive opportunities for sport through the work of member organisations.

Following a partnership between INAS and the International Paralympic Committee to overhaul the process of determining athlete eligibility, events for athletes with an intellectual disability were re-instated to the Paralympic programme by the IPC General Assembly in November 2009, in preparation for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

In 2019, INAS was rebranded as Virtus.[citation needed]

  • Team Portugal
    Team Portugal
  • Podium, 2024
    Podium, 2024

Events

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INAS World Championships

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Number Event First Edition Last edition
Main sports
1 INAS World Athletics Championships (outdoor, indoor) 1989, 2001 10th (2017), 9th (2016)
2 INAS World Cross Country Championships 2002 9th (2017)
3 INAS World Half Marathon Championships 2006 8th (2018)
4 INAS World Swimming Championships 1989 6th (2017)
5 INAS World Cycling Championships 1999 10th (2018)
6 INAS World Rowing Championships (outdoor, indoor) 2014, 2009 2nd (2015), 4th (2015)
Team sports
8 INAS World Basketball Championships 1994 10th (2017)
9 INAS World Cricket Championships 2011 2nd (2015)
10 INAS World Football Championships 1994 7th (2018)
11 INAS World Futsal Championships 2012 2nd (2017)
12 INAS World Handball Championships no yet no yet
13 INAS World Hockey Championships (field hockey) no yet no yet
Winter sports
14 INAS World Ski Championships (alpine, Nordic) 2009 9th (2017)
Other sports
15 INAS World Equestrian Championships 2017 1st (2017)
16 INAS World Table Tennis Championships 1995 7th (2017)
17 INAS World Tennis Championships 2004 7th (2018)

Note : INAS does not organise events in Taekwondo but work in partnership with World Taekwondo World Para Taekwondo Championships.

INAS Global Games

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In 2004 INAS launched a new multi-sport competition INAS Global Games (INAS World Games / Intellectual Disability Global Games). The first event took place in Bollnäs, Sweden and featured more than 1000 athletes. The second Global Games took place in Czech Republic in 2009. With the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability into Paralympic competition, it was decided to move the Global Games to the year preceding the Paralympics. The next Global Games therefore took place in 2011. After a bidding procedure, Italy was chosen as the host nation. The 2015 Global Games took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in September. The 2019 INAS Global Games took place in Brisbane, Queensland Australia.[6] The 2023 Virtus Global Games took place in Vichy, France.[7]

No. Year Dates City and host country Champion Sports Events Countries
1 2004 July Sweden Bollnäs, Sweden  Poland 6 40
2 2009 7–11 June Czech Republic Liberec, Czech Republic  Australia 9 34
3 2011 26 September–4 October Italy Loano, Italy  Australia 9 30
4 2015 20–27 September Ecuador Quito, Ecuador  Australia 8 35
5 2019 12–19 October Australia Brisbane, Australia  Australia 11
6 2023 4–10 June France Vichy, France  France 13 47

Results for 2023 Virtus Global Games: https://c3k8ff.n3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Results-GG2023.pdf

Regional Games

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Source:[8][9]

European Championships[10][11][12][13]

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Members (28 nations in 2019):[14]

Sports:[15][16]

  1. Athletics: [17]
  2. Swimming: [18]
  3. Futsal/Football: [19]
  4. Basketball: [20]
  5. Handball: [21]
  6. Table Tennis: [22]
  7. Other Sports (Cycling,Rowing,Judo,Skiing,Tennis,Equestrian): [23]

INAS European Games

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No. Year Dates City and host country Champion Sports Events Countries
1 2018 14 - 22 July France Paris, France 7 + 2 TBD
2 2022 Poland Krakow, Poland TBD

Results of the 2018 European Championship:[24]

Country Position
Italy Champion (1st Title)
Portugal Runner-up
Spain Third Place

The 1st European Winter Games (skiing, rowing, futsal, basketball 3x3) took place in Zakopane, Poland from 2 March - 8 March 2024.[citation needed]

INAS Asia-Pacific Games

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The 1st Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022 took place in Australia from 5-11 November 2022. [25]

Sports:[26]

  1. Athletics - Paralympic Pathway
  2. Badminton - Demonstration Sport
  3. Basketball
  4. Cycling - Track & Road Cycling
  5. Judo
  6. Rowing - On-Water & Indoor Rowing
  7. Sailing - Para Sailing International Championship
  8. Swimming - Paralympic Pathway
  9. Table Tennis - Paralympic Pathway
  10. Taekwondo
  11. Triathlon - Demonstration Sport

20 countries took part in the event:[27]

  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Colombia
  • Ecuador
  • Fiji
  • France (including Wallis & Futuna, New Caledonia)
  • Hong Kong
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Japan
  • Macau
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • New Zealand
  • Republic of Palau
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Philippines
  • Republic of Korea
  • Singapore
  • Chinese Taipei
  • Thailand
  • Great Britain
  • United States of America

Events:[28]

  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Cycling
  • Equestrian
  • Futsal
  • Handball
  • Judo
  • Karate
  • Rowing
  • Swimming
  • Table Tennis
  • Taekwondo
  • Tennis

Medals:[29]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Australia948343220
2 Japan25131553
3 Hong Kong917733
4 Iran4228
5 India4037
6 South Korea3036
7 Malaysia2237
8 Chinese Taipei15511
9 Singapore1304
10 Indonesia12811
11 New Zealand12710
12 Philippines1203
13 Fiji0123
14 Macau0011
 Thailand0011
Totals (15 entries)146132100378

In the event, Solomon Islands received one silver while the Republic of Palau received no medals.

INAS Pan American Games

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The 2026 Virtus Americas Regional Games are scheduled to take place in Peru. [30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "High performance sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment". inas.org. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. ^ DePauw, Karen P; Rich, Sarah (Winter 1993). "Paralympics for the mentally handicapped". Palaestra. Vol. 9, no. 2. pp. 59–64.
  3. ^ "Sports - VIRTUS". 4 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Events and competitions for athletes with an intellectual impairment". inas.org. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. ^ "International Federation for Intellectual Impairment Sport: Global Games". inas.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Inas Global Games 2019". www.inasglobalgames.org. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  7. ^ "2023 Virtus Global Games". virtus.sport. 13 October 2023.
  8. ^ https://www.virtus.sport/regional-games [bare URL]
  9. ^ http://www.virtuseurope.eu/ [bare URL]
  10. ^ "Synthesis - Virtus Europe".
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.inaseurope.org/index.html [bare URL]
  12. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.virtuseurope.eu/ [bare URL]
  13. ^ "Virtuseurope.eu". Archived from the original on 12 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Members - Virtus Europe".
  15. ^ "Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Sports - virtuseurope.eu". Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Athletics - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Swimming - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Futsal/Football - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Basketball - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Handball - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Table Tennis - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Other sports - Virtus Europe". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
  24. ^ "2018 INAS European Championship Games". INAS. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017.
  25. ^ https://oagames2022.org/ [bare URL]
  26. ^ "Sports | OAG". 19 July 2022.
  27. ^ "The Countries - OAG". 30 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Events & Results - OAG". 3 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Medal Tally - OAG". 7 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Peru to Host Inaugural 2026 Virtus Americas Regional Games - VIRTUS". 19 July 2023.
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