Virtus Sport (formerly INAS or INAS Sport) (International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability; originally called INAS-FMH, later INAS-FID, INAS and now as Virtus Sport) is a federation which was established in 1986 by professionals in the Netherlands who were involved in sport and wanted to promote the participation of athletes with mental handicap in elite sports (intellectual impairment).
The organisation uses the brand name Virtus to promote sport worldwide for athletes with intellectual disability, autism and Down syndrome.
It provides competition opportunities for elite athletes with an intellectual disability in Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports and is different from Special Olympics, which provides non-elite opportunities worldwide.
Names INAS-FMH – 1986–1994 INAS-FID – International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID): 1994–? INAS – International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability: ?–2019 Virtus Sport – 2019–present
History The founding meeting of the first Executive Committee took place in January 1986 and after which the organisation became a member of the ICC– the International Coordinating Committee– the organisation that later became the International Paralympic Committee.
INAS' original membership was 14 nations which has grown into around 80 nations today.
In 1989, the 1st World Games for Athletes with an Intellectual Disability were held in Harnosand, Sweden and in 1992, immediately after the Barcelona Paralympic Games, the first Paralympic Games for 'Persons with mental handicap' were held in Madrid.
In 1994, INAS-FMH became INAS-FID – the 'International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability' and in 1996, for the first time, a small programme of events for athletes with an intellectual disability was included in the Paralympic Games in Atlanta.
A larger programme including athletics, swimming and basketball was included in the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000, but it soon emerged that a small number of athletes had cheated the system of determining eligibility, resulting in the suspension of events – a suspension that was to remain in place until 2012.
Despite exclusion from the Paralympic Games, the INAS sport programme continued to grow considerably to incorporate more than 10 sports whilst its membership grew to cover all 5 continents.
Eligibility and classification Athletes with an intellectual disability are characterised by an IQ of 75 or below, significant limitations in Adaptive Behaviour and the disability must be present before the age of 18. This is based on the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability's definition of intellectual disability.
Recognized sports Sports:
Core sports Athletics Basketball Cricket Cycling Equestrian Football/futsal Judo Rowing Skiing Swimming Table tennis Tennis
Partnerships with international federations Golf Karate Para-hockey Sailing Taekwondo
Current activities Today's sport programme includes some 15 annual events, and more than 4000 athletes are registered to compete at an international level, while thousands of people with an intellectual disability receive opportunities for sport through the work of member organisations.
Following a partnership between INAS and the International Paralympic Committee to overhaul the process of determining athlete eligibility, events for athletes with an intellectual disability were re-instated to the Paralympic programme by the IPC General Assembly in November 2009, in preparation for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
In 2019, INAS was rebranded as Virtus.
Events
INAS World Championships Main article : INAS World Championships
Number Event First Edition Last edition Main sports1INAS World Athletics Championships (outdoor, indoor) 1989, 2001 10th (2017), 9th (2016)2INAS World Cross Country Championships 2002 9th (2017)3INAS World Half Marathon Championships 2006 8th (2018)4INAS World Swimming Championships 1989 6th (2017)5INAS World Cycling Championships 1999 10th (2018)6INAS World Rowing Championships (outdoor, indoor) 2014, 2009 2nd (2015), 4th (2015) Team sports8INAS World Basketball Championships 1994 10th (2017)9INAS World Cricket Championships 2011 2nd (2015)10INAS World Football Championships 1994 7th (2018)11INAS World Futsal Championships 2012 2nd (2017)12INAS World Handball Championships no yet no yet13INAS World Hockey Championships (field hockey) no yet no yet Winter sports14INAS World Ski Championships (alpine, Nordic) 2009 9th (2017) Other sports15INAS World Equestrian Championships2017 1st (2017)16INAS World Table Tennis Championships 1995 7th (2017)17INAS World Tennis Championships 2004 7th (2018)
Note : INAS does not organise events in Taekwondo but work in partnership with World Taekwondo World Para Taekwondo Championships.
Source :
INAS Global Games Main article : INAS Global Games
In 2004 INAS launched a new multi-sport competition INAS Global Games (INAS World Games / Intellectual Disability Global Games). The first event took place in Bollnäs, Sweden and featured more than 1000 athletes. The second Global Games took place in Czech Republic in 2009. With the re-inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability into Paralympic competition, it was decided to move the Global Games to the year preceding the Paralympics. The next Global Games therefore took place in 2011. After a bidding procedure, Italy was chosen as the host nation. The 2015 Global Games took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in September. The 2019 INAS Global Games took place in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. The 2023 Virtus Global Games took place in Vichy, France. No.YearDatesCity and host countryChampionSportsEventsCountries12004July Bollnäs, Sweden640220097–11 June Liberec, Czech Republic9343201126 September – 4 October Loano, Italy9304201520–27 September Quito, Ecuador83552019 12–19 October Brisbane, Australia 11620234–10 June Vichy, France134772027
Regional Games Source:
European Championships Source:
Members (28 nations in 2019):
Sports:
Athletics: Swimming: Futsal/Football: Basketball: Handball: Table Tennis: Other Sports (Cycling, Rowing, Judo, Skiing, Tennis, Equestrian):
INAS European Games No.YearDatesCity and host countryChampionSportsEventsCountries1201814–22 July Paris, France7 + 2TBD22022 Krakow, PolandTBD32026 Results of the 2018 European Championship: +CountryPositionItalyChampion (1st Title) PortugalRunner-upSpainThird place The 1st European Winter Games (skiing, rowing, futsal, basketball 3x3) took place in Zakopane, Poland from 2 – 8 March 2024.
INAS Asia-Pacific Games 2022 2026
The 1st Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022 took place in Australia from 5–11 November 2022.
Sports:
Athletics – Paralympic Pathway Badminton – Demonstration Sport Basketball Cycling – Track & Road Cycling Judo Rowing – On-Water & Indoor Rowing Sailing – Para Sailing International Championship Swimming – Paralympic Pathway Table Tennis – Paralympic Pathway Taekwondo Triathlon – Demonstration Sport
20 countries took part in the event:
Australia Brazil Colombia Ecuador Fiji France (including Wallis & Futuna, New Caledonia) Hong Kong India Indonesia Islamic Republic of Iran Japan Macau Malaysia Maldives New Zealand Republic of Palau Papua New Guinea Philippines Republic of Korea Singapore Chinese Taipei Thailand Great Britain United States of America
Events:
Athletics Basketball Cycling Equestrian Futsal Handball Judo Karate Rowing Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis
Medals:
In the event, Solomon Islands received one silver while the Republic of Palau received no medals.
INAS Pan American Games The 2026 Virtus Americas Regional Games are scheduled to take place in Peru.
See also Special Olympics International Blind Sports Federation International Committee of Sports for the Deaf World Abilitysport International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) International Sports Federation of the Disabled (ISOD) International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF) International Sports Federation of the Disabled (ISOD)
References
External links American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability Virtus World Intellectual Impairment Sport