A combination of projects run by National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), Regional Organisations, International Federations and International Organisations of Sport for the Disabled have been awarded funding for 2014.

The Agitos Foundation called on organisations around the globe to apply for funding earlier this year and received 76 applications by the May 15 deadline.

The Foundation asked organisations to "draw attention to the support, training and competition needs required at every stage of a Para-athlete's career".

This year there was also more of a focus on encouraging applications from NPCs and Regional Organisations looking to work collaboratively and therefore improve networking between countries and regions.

The Foundation awarded €450,000 (£355,000/$606,000) to projects run by NPCs and Regional Organisations, including an athlete development pathway development programme for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games run by the Rwanda Paralympic Committee, and the Youth Ambassadors for Europe campaign run by the European Paralympic Committee.

The African Paralympic Committee also received funding towards athlete development for the 2015 All African Games, while the Nicaraguan Paralympic Committee will be supported to develop a Para-sport circuit.

Funding has been made available to the African Paralympic Committee to support athlete development for the 2015 All Africa Games ©AFP/Getty Images



The remaining €200,000 (£158,000/$269,000) has gone to projects such as improving reliability and validity of classification methods at the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association, a Para-rowing development training camp and regatta at the International Rowing Federation and a referee instructor project at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.

"We are delighted that 76 member organisations applied to the Grant Support Programme this year," said director of the Agitos Foundation, Georg Schlachtenberger.

"It is the biggest of all our development activities and has already had a major impact on Para-sport within less than one year after the launch of the first edition.

"The quality of the applications in 2014 was incredibly high and the selection process hugely competitive, which highlights the great desire of our membership to build development activities in their regions."

The Agitos Foundation has provided funding for a referee instructor programme run by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation ©AFP/Getty Images



A full list of the 28 projects to receive funding are:

• African Paralympic Committee: athlete development for the 2015 All African Games

• Argentinian Paralympic Committee: raising awareness of the Paralympic Movement in Argentina

• Benin Paralympic Committee: widening the reach of the Paralympic Movement

• Democratic Republic of Congo Paralympic Committee: strengthening the technical and administrative capacity in Central Africa

• European Paralympic Committee: Youth Ambassadors for Europe

• French Paralympic Committee: Project Youth Has Potential (Project Jeune a Potentiel)

• Ghanaian Paralympic Committee: national Para-sports festival

• Lithuanian Paralympic Committee: Baltic Summer Youth Games

• The Netherlands Paralympic Committee: developing Para-sport in the Caribbean

• Romanian Paralympic Committee: wheelchair curling development

• Rwanda Paralympic Committee: athlete pathway development towards Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020

• Slovenian Paralympic Committee: development and education of Para-athletes

• Mongolian Paralympic Committee: National Paralympic Day

• Nicaraguan Paralympic Committee: Para-sport circuit in Central America

• New Zealand Paralympic Committee: snow sports talent identification programme for women and young people in New Zealand

• Oceania Paralympic Committee: talent identification, classification and grassroots competition

• Serbian Paralympic Committee: developing Alpine skiing in south-east Europe

The Serbian Paralympic Committee will be supported in developing Alpine skiing
©Getty Images



• IPC Athletics: classification education video

• Boccia International Sports Federation: online boccia education tools

• Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association: improving reliability and validity of current classification methods for athletes in FT5 to FT8 and T35 to T38 classifications

• International Blind Sports Federation: expert consensus statement regarding visually impaired classification research

• IPC Powerlifting: introduction to Para-powerlifting for coaches seminars

• International Rowing Federation: Para-rowing development training camp and regatta

• International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability: furthering sports

• International Tennis Federation: development of wheelchair tennis in the Caribbean

• Classification for athletes with intellectual impairment (second stage)

• International Wheelchair Basketball Federation: referee instructor project

• International Wheelchair Rugby Federation: developing a low-cost wheelchair rugby chair.

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