The IBSA’s organizing members

The IBSA’s organizing members are known to be the ones who host the IBSA’s World Games. As of now, we have been fortunate to witness four editions of the IBSA World Games. The competitions took place on four different continents. The four countries concerned and that we will touch on through this article are the following: Spain, Canada, Turkey and South Korea. We will talk about the countries themselves as well as the city in which the IBSA World Games were hosted. You will get to have a different insight on the organization of the events and their importance to the community of blind and partly sighted athletes. Let the show begin now, we will take you to places in the span of an article!

Madrid

After France introduced the IBSA World Games to the world, Spain was the first country to volunteer to organize the events. The first IBSA World Games edition took place in Madrid, Spain. In 1998, the IBSA competitions did not reach as much coverage as the later editions. For the first edition, Madrid hosted championships based on several Paralympic games, three to be exact. Five-a-side football, Goalball and Judo, were the first agreed upon sports that would be open to blind and partially athletes to compete in, in Madrid, Spain. This edition was an absolute success and brought so much attention to the cause that the federation decided to move the competition across the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec!

Canada

In 2003, Quebec, Canada was the second organizing member to host the second edition of the World Games. The Paralympic sports were still on the list, although a lot of winter sports were added to the list such as skiing, but also bowling and many others. The competition hosted a larger amount of athletes, considering the fact that a lot more sports were added to the events. The Canadian adventure was a success, as you may already know. Therefore, for the third edition all eyes were on Antalya, Turkey that was to host the next edition.

Turkey

Turkey was the third official member to host the IBSA World Games in 2008. Antalya was the city chosen for blind and partly sighted athletes to take part in the third edition of the IBSA World Games. The athletes went through rounds of competitions in five-a-side football, Judo, bowling, Goalball and many others. This edition brought a great deal of awareness to the cause in that region of he world. After the Turkish edition, the list of registered athletes kept on increasing.

South Korea

In 2015, Seoul, the South Korean capital was the fourth city to host the IBSA World Games. The competition was extended for the mere reason that a lot more sports were added on to the event. The event was a success and was the most viewed and followed throughout the world.