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The 2023 PARA SPORT Awards will take place on 27 September in Manama, Bahrain, recognising and honouring the outstanding performances and achievements of Para athletes, teams, and other individuals and organisations.

In total 10 PARA SPORT Awards are up for grabs, including:

• Best Female Summer Sports – recognises the achievements of a female summer athlete.
• Best Male Summer Sports – recognises the achievements of a male summer athlete.
• Best Female Winter Sport – recognises the achievements of a female winter athlete.
• Best Male Winter Sport – recognises the achievements of a male winter athlete.
• Rising Star Award – recognises the achievements of a summer or winter athlete under the age of 20.
• Best Team – recognises the achievements of a summer or winter team.
• Best Coach – recognises the achievements of a summer or winter coach.
• Breakthrough Award – recognises an athlete or NPC that made a significant breakthrough e.g., qualifying for a first World Championships, debuting at a Paralympics, winning a first medal, making a first final or setting several personal bests.
• Citi Community Impact Award – recognises the work of an IPC member or partner who has implemented an activity that has had a significant impact on their respective community e.g., a campaign, sport development programme or event.
• Citi Volunteer Award – recognises someone who has given up their own time to support Para sport e.g., as a volunteer, classifier, technical official, event support, member support. The public will vote in an online poll to decide the winner of this award from 1 September.

More than 300 attendees from the IPC’s 208 members made up of National Paralympic Committees, International Federations, Regional Organisations, and International Organisations of Sport for the Disabled are expected to attend the Awards which coincide with the IPC General Assembly and Conference in Manama.

Earlier this year, IPC members were invited to nominate recipients in each category, covering the timeframe 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2023. From the nominations, the IPC Governing Board determined the winners of each category, except for one, – the Citi Volunteer Award – which will be decided by an online public vote.

Two of the awards are supported by Citi, who were the founding partner of PARA SPORT when it launched in May 2022. PARA SPORT is the IPC’s grassroots-to-high performance programme that shows the value of sport through three core elements: awareness, community, and freedom.