Sponsoring Media Center
Supporting the IPC as "Gold Patron" of the Paralympic Movement and the DBS as "Official Partner of the German Paralympic Top Team" within the last two years, Allianz proved its reliable partnership and a passion for outstanding performance in Paralympic Sport.
"Passion | Ambition | A True Partnership" is the leading idea which integrates all Allianz activities in 2009/2010. This claim represents our experiences of the engagement in the last two years: it’s about emotion, achieving goals and having a trusted partner on your side. Allianz, acting as a multiplier for the Paralympic Movement, aims at reducing still existing and hidden, social reservations to a larger extent. Focussing on the thrilling and energetic sportive tension, Allianz wants to animate and promote an active, emotional and natural fascination towards all kinds of Paralympic Sports.
Sir Philip Craven, President of the IPC
Founded in 1989, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has the vision to enable Paralympic athletes worldwide to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and excite the world.
The IPC is one of the largest democratic non-profit sport organizations in the world. In 2001, Sir Philip Craven from Great Britain was elected president to lead the organization. Its membership includes, amongst others, more than 160 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs).
The IPC organizes, supervises, and coordinates the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games, but also other competitions including world and regional championships in 11 sports. Representing the vast majority of athletes with a disability, it has taken sport to a new and higher level, providing unique opportunities from a developmental to an elite sport level.
By promoting the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration, and equality, the IPC is a central organ for supporting the integration of persons with a disability, and strengthens their position in society by changing public perception.
The Paralympic symbol consists of three elements in red, blue, and green – the three colors that are most widely represented in national flags around the world. It is a symbol that is in motion, with three Agitos (from the Latin word "agito," meaning "I move") encircling a center point, emphasizing the role that the IPC has of bringing athletes from all corners of the world together and enabling them to compete. It also stresses the fact that Paralympic athletes are constantly inspiring and exciting the world with their performances – always moving forward and never giving up – as embodied in the Paralympic vision "To Enable Paralympic Athletes to Achieve Sporting Excellence and to Inspire and Excite the World".
"Spirit in Motion" is the Paralympic motto, expressing the inspirational character of the Paralympic Movement as well as the elite performance of Paralympic athletes. It also stands for the strong will of every athlete. The word “Spirit” implies that the IPC is not limited to only staging high-performance sport, but that there is a strong message behind the movement. "Motion," on the other hand, implies that the IPC is an organization on the move.
Friedhelm Julius Beucher, President of the DBS
In order to support the global acceptance of the Paralympic Movement, the IPC works together with national Paralympic organizing committees, called "National Paralympic Committees." In Germany, the NPC is represented by the DBS (Deutscher Behindertensportverband). It is a democratic sports association which not only sends the German team to the Paralympic Games but also takes care of a wide range of events, e.g. the German Championships.
The mission and the vision of the DBS are to use sport as a part of rehabilitation and to enable all persons with a disability to participate in sport and society regardless of their disability.
The DBS offers three main areas of sport for people with disabilities:
1. Rehabilitation sport, which is defined as an additional activity within rehabilitation work – mainly exercises and regular training sessions with professional therapists for persons with a disability.
2. Popular sport, which is comparable to able-bodied popular sport. The focus is on fun and enjoyment of sport, combined with the social side effects of popular sport.
3. Professional sport, with the aim of achieving personal sporting excellence. The DBS supports athletes on their way to the Paralympics Games as well as in other world-class sporting competitions to help them compete on an international level.
One of the programs in the field of professional sport is the support of the German Top Team, which backs German athletes during their preparation for the Paralympic Games.
The DBS as an organization provides its members the opportunity to link up with each other – bringing together the rehabilitation athletes, the popular athletes, as well as the professional athletes by uniting them through true team spirit.