IPC Athletes’ Council elects two new members

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has elected two new members to its Athletes’ Council, which will serve until the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. The election of the two new members were made during the last week of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

The two new members are Birgit Skarstein of Norway, who competes in the Para cross-country skiing and Joshua Peter Duek of Canada who is an Para Alpine skier.

“On behalf of the Athletes’ Council we are thrilled to have Birgit and Joshua on the Council. We hope to use our next Athletes’ Council meeting in April to decide on the third member elected from the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games,” said Athletes’ Council chairperson Jitske Visser.

There were three competitors for the positions of the Council. However, two of these athletes, namely Rico Roman and Mitchell Gourlay, were tied for the final spot.

In the event of a tie, the final position remains vacant until the Athletes’ Council in April when a final decision will be made.

The members of the council are composed of nine athletes, which includes three winter sports and six summer athletes.

“We have also had an unprecedented two Paralympic Games in seven months. Now the hard work starts for the Athletes’ Council as we must fully focus on what we can do as the voice of Paralympic athletes within the Paralympic Movement. I am very hopeful that we can make a lot of positive progress.”

The purpose of the Athletes’ Council is to serve as the liaison between the athletes and the decision-makers within the movement. All members must be active Paralympic athletes who have competed in the past two editions of the Games.