Monthly preview: March 2016
03.03.2016
World Championships in track cycling and boccia headline this month in para-sport.
UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships
The World Championships, held 17-20 March in Montichiari, Italy, will be the last chance for cyclists to grab Paralympic points toward Rio 2016. The USA’s Joseph Berenyi and Japan’s Masaki Fujita are expected to battle for the title in the C3 pursuit, with Berenyi as the reigning world champion.
The Netherlands’ Alyda Norbruis will look to sweep all three C2 women’s events again.
More information on the Para-Cycling Track World Championships can be found on the event website.
BISFed World Individual Championships
From 19-26 March, the top boccia players will look to claim world titles in Beijing, China, and showcase their strength ahead of Rio 2016. South Korea’s Hansoo Kim returns as the defending BC3 champion, while Great Britain’s David Smith looks to keep his crown from 2014. Thailand’s Watcharaphon Vongsa is the defending BC2 champion, but Brazil’s Maciel Souza Santos is also aiming for the crown. The BC4 will be interesting, with Hong Kong, China’s Yuk Wing Leung a heavy favourite, but Brazil’s Eliseu Santos, Canada’s Marco Dispaltro and South Korea’s Hyeongseok Seo are potential gold medal finishers.
More information on Individual World Championships will be available on BISFed’s website.
World Para Volley Intercontinental
One men and one women teams will earn their spots for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, as the competition from 17-23 March in Anji, Huzhou, China, will be the last chance to qualify for Rio. All four World ParaVolley Zones will be represented, with 17 men and 15 women’s teams set to compete.
Visit World Para Volley's website for more information.
Three competitions will take place this month, with the Asia-Oceania Championships leading the way from 6-12 March in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Championships will be one of the last major competitions ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympics Games and is expected to attract around 300 athletes from almost 30 countries. More information can be found on the event website.
Two Grand Prix events will also take place: 8th FAZAA IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai held 17-20 March; and Tunis International Meeting held 24-26 March in Tunis, Tunisia.
IPC Snowboard World Cups
Between 8-11 March athletes will compete in the IPC Snowboard Europa Cup Finals, followed by the third edition of the World Cup between 9-12 March in Les Angles, France. Snowboarders will compete in snowboard-cross and banked slalom at both events, the first time France will host a World Cup.
The World Cup circuit then moves to Trentino, Italy, for the finals from 15-18 March.
Visit IPC Snowboard’s website for more.
Two continental Championships and one World Para-Triathlon Event (WPE) take place this month, as triathletes race to grab valuable Paralympic points for Rio 2016, where the sport will debut.
The Sarasota CAMTRI Para-Triathlon American Championships will take place 13 March in Sarasota, USA, while the Bloemfontein ATU Para-Triathlon African Championships will run simultaneously in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Then from 19-20 March, the Buffalo City ITU WPE in South Africa will also allow athletes to score qualifying points before the last WPE event in 30 June.
Visit the Para-Triathlon website for more.
IPC Shooting World Cup
The second stop of the 2016 competition calendar is on 13-14 March in Bangkok, Thailand, where shooters look to fine tune themselves ahead of Rio 2016. Live results will be available on IPC Shooting's website.
IPC Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing World Cup
The final World Cup races in Vuokatti, Finland, from 15-20 March will feature skiers closely matched in the rankings across cross-country skiing and biathlon men’s and women’s events. Coming off the IPC Biathlon World Cup in Finsterau, Germany, the Russian trio of Stanislav Chokhlaev, Vladislav Lekomtsev and Grigory Murygin lead the way in the points standings.
Find more information at IPC Nordic Skiing's website.