The IBSA World Games: A Round Up
The University of Birmingham was incredibly proud to host the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games during the last two weeks of August, during which we welcomed over 1250 blind and partially-sighted athletes from 70 countries onto campus. The IBSA World Games are an international multi-sport event that occurs every four years and enables blind and partially-sighted athletes to compete in a number of sports.
As well as welcoming Men’s Blind Football, Women’s Blind Football, Judo, Archery and Showdown onto campus – 5 of the 10 sports! – we also hosted a ‘Give it a Go’ Activation Zone, where people were encouraged to try out a variety of sports throughout the second week of competition.
Judo and Men’s Blind Football, which took place in our Munrow Arena and on the Bournbrook 3G pitches respectively, were particularly hotly-contested events, as they formed part of the qualification process for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
As the IBSA’s President, Ilgar Rahimov, stated in his speech during the Closing Ceremony, we were fortunate to host and witness “sporting excellence every day”, as participating athletes “excited and inspired the world.”
University of Birmingham Sport thoroughly enjoyed the buzz that The IBSA World Games brought to our facilities and hope that our members and the wider community managed to get involved in some of the action!
