Personally I think it's a great idea!
"Over the next year British Triathlon will be re-branding all areas relating to 'Disabled Triathlon', to Paratriathlon. The move is to bring the Federation and Home Nations into line with the International Triathlon Union, as the sport drives forward with its ambitions to become a Paralympic sport.
As much of the Federation's literature refers to disabled athletes in some format, the re-wording of all documents is expected to be completed by the start of the 2010 race season. During the next year coach education and officials documents, race entry, club accreditation and event names will all be subject to the re-branding.
Mark Barfield, Director of Development, has been appointed to the newly formed ITU Paratriathlon Committee, and will be working with the International Paralympic Committee to hopefully include triathlon at the 2012 Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport.
Mark said: 'It is fantastic to be able to represent British Triathlon on this group. Paratriathlon and its inclusion in the Paralympic Games would be a major step forward for the sport and a significant driver in increasing participation at national and club level. I feel passionately about taking the sport forward in this direction and can't wait to work with my international colleagues on this project."
The Paralympic Games originated at Stoke Mandeville hospital, in Aylesbury, England, conceived by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, who originally planned them as part of a rehabilitation programme for people with spinal injuries and to help young disabled war veterans find activity and gain self-esteem. The term 'para', within the word Paralympics and Paratriathlon, derives from the word parallel.
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