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BEGINNINGS OF THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT IN POLAND

A. Plominski

Abstract

The Paralympic movement in Poland was shaped in the 1960s. The first stage of the birth of the Polish Paralympic movement was the establishment in 1961 within the structures of "Start" Sports Association of a committee for physical education and sport of the disabled. The formation of the committee made it possible to build organizational and legal structures and to coordinate and finance sport of people with disabilities at central, regional and local levels. The next stage of the development of the Paralympic movement was establishing cooperation with international organizations engaged in sports activities for the disabled (Poland was the only country of the Communist bloc among the founding members of the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled – 1964). Establishing international contacts allowed disabled competitors from Poland to gain sporting experience outside the country, which resulted in a systematic increase in the sports level. At the end of the 1960s the Paralympic movement in Poland was fully formed in terms of both its organization and sport itself as evidenced by the Polish national team debut at the summer Paralympic Games (4th Summer Paralympic Games – Heidelberg 1972), resulting in sixth place in the overall medal count.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2017/22/S08.026

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