Dear FIPFA Members, I hope you are all safe and well. The Exco met early in January, reviewed the first submitted membership applications, and spent time giving the first approvals of the budget for the year.

We discussed the Local Organising Committee (LOC) update of the World Cup, who had met in Mid-December. We received updates from each Zone as to their plans for 2022. Only EPFA had some events they were planning. We also received an update on the New FIPFA website, which was set for launch at the end of January.

• Finally, we updated on FIPFA partnerships:
• We are working with FIFA on a toolkit to be used by FIFA member nations
• Meeting due with Power Soccer Shop in the next week to discuss plans for 2022, and
• Barb spoke around attendance at IPC General Assembly, and I updated on a meeting we had been invited to with IPC on the application process for LA 2028 Paralympic Games.

A week later, we received a request to meet with the LOC to discuss the World Cup. Sophie and I attended the meeting, where they shared the current update. This meeting prompted an urgent meeting of the FIPFA Exco to discuss the plans for the next steps.

In February, we informed member nations that the 2022 FIPFA Powerchair World Cup would be postponed and invited them all to join us to discuss the reasons why and what plans were being put into place. This meeting of qualified nations also showed how important communication is, as some nations had not been in touch with FIPFA or LOC, but had made plans. All members understood the decision and agreed to work within the new timeline, as the LOC confirmed they had secured dates for October 2023. 

With the FIPFA Powerchair World Cup being scheduled for October 2023, there would be limited activity in 2022 and Nation and Zone Representatives could look at possible events. We have received some communication from member nations that they wish to host an event and we encourage all members to look at this and speak with Zone and FIPFA representatives about what could be possible. FIPFA is keen to see the return of International Powerchair Events. We do have Event Sanction documentation needed for all events requiring FIPFA support. Please get in touch with Sophie if you wish to receive this document again.

At the February Exco meeting, we reviewed the Covid situation, as it is varied per nation and continent. We reviewed the budget in line with the postponement of the World Cup and looked at support for two events planned in April in the EPFA Zone. We also approved more memberships and agreed that Congress would take place online again this year with a date to be determined, but likely in November.

We also looked at forward planning of the next post-2023 World Cup and how the qualification programme and timeline may look. We took on board the comments and feedback from the surveys taken in 2021 and we confirmed the next FIPFA Powerchair World Cup would take place in 2026 and we would work on the bid documentation and process so this can be communicated to all. Zone qualification events would need to have been completed by 2025—more information on this to come.

We also updated on the LA28 Paralympic games application, and now that we have read all the information, we have some questions for IPC, which we will submit when they return from the Winter Games.

In March, the Exco meeting discussed that the progress with becoming a Charity had not progressed due to the busy period with other work. We approved 9 Full memberships and 1 Associate membership. We also noticed that some membership applications and payments were needed for a few NOPFs due to take part in April events which had yet to complete membership for 2022. Barb agreed to reach out to each.

The MEMBERSHIP LINK is now live, and we encourage all NOPFs who have not yet done so to complete the form as soon as possible. The Executive Committee will review and look to approve at their next meeting. We also discussed the New FIPFA website and delayed the launch as we wanted to have positive news to show when it launched. It was agreed to go live on 1st April 2022. We also updated on the World Cup, and the next LOC is due in April. We received updates from each Zone and discussed some correspondence about holding events.

The April meeting was postponed due to member availability linked to the first International Powerchair activity since November 2019.

If you have any questions about this or any other related matter, please get in touch with me or any member of the FIPFA Executive Committee.