A night at the opera began the 2023 Virtus Global Games. However, unlike Queen’s album of a similar name, there was no “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon.” There was work to be done for the 900 athletes crammed into the Vichy Opera House. After all, there were medals to be won at this multi-sport gathering for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
“We actually lost just about three years of our competition program following the last Games in Brisbane,” explained Virtus Executive Director Nick Parr. “I think just getting athletes back on the sporting field of play and seeing the Global Games happen is something that a few years ago seemed a long, long way away. Just getting the Games there, for me, is a significant moment.”
Paralympic Games
It’s a significant moment for France as well. The nation is hosting the world’s most prestigious competition for athletes with an intellectual impairment for the first time. A perfect hors d’oeuvre for a nation that will welcome the Paralympic Games next summer. “I think it’s fair to say that the team in France have worked particularly hard for these Games,” added Parr. “Most organizing committees have a four or five year run up to delivery. Of course, the world stopped for two or three years since our last Global Games in Brisbane, so the team in France have had to work really hard to recover that ground and get to where they want to be.”
It was imperative for athletes with an intellectual impairment that the Global Games were held on schedule. The event will serve as a means of Paralympic qualification for select athletes in table tennis. It also gives them a chance to face their fiercest competition before next year’s Games. “We work quite closely with a number of international federations,” commented Parr. “We’re delighted that the International Table Tennis Federation have chosen this event as a qualification event. They’ve been huge supporters of Virtus in the past, and this is the first time that we have that direct qualification opportunity.”
While Paralympics represent a huge opportunity for athletes with an intellectual impairment, Parr noted that very few athletes will get the opportunity to perform on that stage. Participation for athletes with an intellectual impairment is limited to three sports: athletics, swimming, and table tennis. Therefore, “Virtus competition is the pinnacle event for athletes with an intellectual impairment worldwide,” according to Parr.
The Virtus Global Games is the marquee event of the organization. It is a multi-day, multi-sport competition for athletes with an international impairment held intermittently since 2004. It is overseen by Virtus, an organization with the mandate to govern, advocate, organize, and promote elite sporting events for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Executive Director Nick Parr made it clear the event was not to be confused with the Special Olympics.
Elite sport
“It’s about elite sport competition,” declared Parr. “It brings together the best athletes from the top of each sport in a multi-sport games. He continued, “Where Special Olympics is set up not necessarily to support just the athletes at the very top, but actually athletes who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get to world competition. I think between ourselves and what the Special Olympics can offer, athletes with an intellectual impairment have a great opportunity to enjoy sports at the level that is appropriate to them. We sit very comfortably side-by-side in the sports pathway.”
The organization’s share a similar social goal as well. “We’re getting sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment in front of more people every year,” confirmed Parr. “For us, that is really important. Whilst what we do is about elite sport and competition, what we’re doing beyond that is giving people with an intellectual impairment that voice, even if sport might not necessarily be they’re thing.”
This year’s edition of the Global Games will include athletes in three different classifications: athletes with autism, athletes with other intellectual impairments, and athletes with both intellectual impairments and physical disabilities. They will compete across 13 sports over the course of a week. Parr sees this as a huge step forward for the organization.
Increasing
“With each edition we see more athletes and…more nations,” commented an enthusiastic Parr. “The membership and support for Virtus is increasing.” He did caution unbridled growth though, adding, “there is a temptation always to add more. We always want to do more, but we also have to be realistic that, behind the [Global] Games, someone has to host it. We need organizations that have the financial ability and the skill to deliver what is now a very complicated multi-sport event.”
He believes France will be able to deliver on that front. While the country’s run of major para sport events has just begun, he sees a larger legacy that can be left in place. “What we do is sport,” declared Parr. “Through sport we can change, for the better, many other areas of people’s lives. If we can break down a few barriers then I think that is a fantastic legacy for Virtus to leave behind.” He added, “we talk a lot about inclusion, but beyond that what we’re working towards is equality. If we can give people with an intellectual impairment that greater equality in the world, then we’re doing something right.”
Equality off the field might be the ultimate goal, but for athletes this week, the main competition will be on the field. The curtains have risen on the Virtus Global Games, and thus, it is time to start the show.