European Paralympic Committee

The European Paralympic Committee (EPC) is an international non for profit organisation which serves a membership of 49 National Paralympic Committees and 9 European branches of disability. Based in Vienna, Austria, the EPC was founded as the IPC European Committee, it was later registered as an independent entity in 1999.[1]

European Paralympic Committee
Formation2 July 1999
TypeSports federation
HeadquartersVienna, Austria
Membership
49 National Paralympic Committees
Official language
English
President
Ratko Kovačić
WebsiteOfficial website

The EPC is responsible for organising the European Paralympic Committee Youth Games. Furthermore, the EPC acts as an organisation which promotes and defends the collective interests of National Paralympic Committees, International Organisation of Sports for the Disabled or International Paralympic Sport Federation and European athletes with disabilities.[1]

The EPC has a democratic structure and the governing body of the organisation is elected every two years through a general assembly, where all registered members are entitled to send delegates and cast their vote. The Committee is made up of a president, secretary-general, treasurer, technical officer, athletes' representative and four members-at-large. The current president is Ratko Kovačić from Croatia, a former table tennis champion.

Member countries

In the following table, the year in which the NPC was recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is also given if it is different from the year in which the NPC was created.

NationCodeNational Paralympic CommitteeCreatedRef.
 AndorraANDAndorran Adapted Sports Federation[1]
 ArmeniaARMArmenian Paralympic Committee1994[2]
 AustriaAUTAustrian Paralympic Committee[3]
 AzerbaijanAZENational Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan Republic[4]
 BelarusBLRParalympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus[5]
 BelgiumBELBelgian Paralympic Committee[6]
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHParalympic Committee of Bosnia & Herzegovina[7]
 BulgariaBULBulgarian Paralympic Association[8]
 CroatiaCROCroatian Paralympic Committee[9]
 CyprusCYPCyprus National Paralympic Committee1999[10]
 Czech RepublicCZECzech Paralympic Committee[11]
 DenmarkDENParalympic Committee Denmark[12]
 EstoniaESTEstonian Paralympic Committee[13]
 Faroe IslandsFROÍtróttasambandið fyri brekað - Faroese Paralympic Committee1980[14]
 FinlandFINFinnish Paralympic Committee[15]
 FranceFRAFrench Paralympic and Sports Committee[16]
 GeorgiaGEOGeorgian Paralympic Committee[17]
 GermanyGERNational Paralympic Committee Germany[18]
 Great BritainGBRBritish Paralympic Association1989[19]
 GreeceGREHellenic Paralympic Committee2001[20]
 HungaryHUNHungarian Paralympic Committee[21]
 IcelandISLIcelandic Sports Association for the Disabled[22]
 IrelandIRLParalympic Council of Ireland[23]
 IsraelISRIsrael Paralympic Committee[24]
 ItalyITAItalian Paralympic Committee[25]
 KosovoKOSParalympic Committee of Kosovo2023[2][26]
 LatviaLATLatvian Paralympic Committee[27]
 LiechtensteinLIELiechtensteiner Behinderten Verband[28]
 LithuaniaLTULithuanian Paralympic Committee[29]
 LuxembourgLUXLuxembourg Paralympic Committee[30]
 MaltaMLTMalta Federation of Sports Associations For Disabled Persons[31]
 MoldovaMDAParalympic Committee of Moldova[32]
 MontenegroMNEParalympic Committee of Montenegro[33]
 NetherlandsNEDDutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation[34]
 North MacedoniaMKDMacedonian Paralympic Committee - Federation for Sport and Recreation for Disabled of Macedonia[35]
 NorwayNORNorwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports[36]
 PolandPOLPolish Paralympic Committee[37]
 PortugalPORPortugal Paralympic Committee[38]
 RomaniaROUNational Paralympic Committee, Romania[39]
 RussiaRUSRussian Paralympic Committee1996[40]
 San MarinoRSMSan Marino Paralympic Committee[41]
 SerbiaSRBParalympic Committee of Serbia[42]
 SlovakiaSVKSlovak Paralympic Committee[43]
 SloveniaSLOParalympic Committee of Slovenia - Sports Federation for the Disabled of Slovenia[44]
 SpainESPSpanish Paralympic Committee[45]
 SwedenSWESwedish Parasports Federation[46]
  SwitzerlandSUISwiss Paralympic Committee[47]
 TurkeyTURTurkish Paralympic Committee2002[48]
 UkraineUKRNational Sports Committee for the Disabled of Ukraine[49]

Events

European Para Championships

The European Para Championships are held every four years in the year proceeding the Summer Paralympic Games and have been given the status of a regional games by the European Paralympic Committee.

European Para Youth Games (EPYG)

The European Para Youth Games is a biennial multi-sport event for young para-athletes aged between 13 and 23.[3][4][5][6]

European Winter Para Sports Event

The first European Winter Para Sports Event (ParaSki4Europe) was held in 2020 in Poland:

NumberYearHostSportsAthletesCountries
12020 Czarna Gora, Poland[7][8][9]415012

See also

References