By now, most NPCs will be aware that the Management Committee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) met 31 January and 1 February 2003 to discuss the revised procedures for eligibility, classification and protest submitted by the International Association of Sport for People with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID).

The decision of the IPC was that more work needed to be done on the procedures and that, therefore, it would not be possible for athletes with an intellectual disability to participate in the Paralympic Games to be held in Athens in September 2004. This is obviously disappointing news for all concerned.

However, the decision does have certain ramifications for table tennis as we are an IPC sport. These are that:

1. we are not able to sanction any INAS-FID event which affects the tournament being held in Japan and the world championships in Mexico
2. we are not able therefore to allocate ranking points or to place the athletes on our ranking lists.

This will take effect immediately and until further notice. The ITTC will, in the meantime, continue to work with INAS-FID table tennis through our Medical Officer to provide any assistance that we can. We hope that INAS-FID and IPC will be able to resolve the outstanding matters as quickly as possible.