Finnish Paralympic Committee

The Finnish Paralympic Committee is a non-governmental umbrella sports organization for persons with disabilities in Finland. Paralympic Committee plans, executes and develops sports and physical activity for physically and intellectually disabled people, visually impaired people and transplant recipients.

The Finnish Paralympic Committee wishes to raise awareness of the Paralympic Games as an elite sports competition and to broaden our view of elite sports. It also encourages young athletes with disabilities to test their limits in sport and to promote cross-cultural communication between disabled athletes. The Committee promotes clean, fair and ethical elite sports. The Committee works in close cooperation with the Finnish Olympic Committee and it is a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Finnish Paralympic Committee offers knowledge and education that helps to develop accessibility in sports facilities. On the other hand the Finnish Paralympic Committee is also a national sports federation which organizes sports activities for such disability specific sports that don’t have its own national sports federation in able-bodied sports (eg. boccia and goalball).

The Finnish Paralympic Committee coordinates the processes of integration and inclusion with an objective to tie disability sports and adapted physical activity more closely together with sports and physical activity of able-bodied persons. Practically it means that more and more disabled athletes could train and compete within mainstream sports clubs that are members of able-bodied national sports federations.

The Finnish Paralmpic Committee offers education and training, consultation and evaluation for the parties that are involved in the processes of integration and inclusion. In many sports integration work is done in cooperation of the Finnish Paralympic Committee and national sports federation.

The Finnish Paralympic Committee offers professional expertise in the field of disability sports for athletes, professionals and students both nationally and locally. Ideas, tools and resources are within everybody’s reach. The Committee is also an active actor internationally.

Special Olympics Finland is part of the Finnish Paralympic Committee activities.

There are two levels of members in the Finnish Paralympic Committee: 1) Local associations and sports clubs who organize physical activity for persons with disabilities and 2) national sport organisations that promotes sport and physical activity for persons with disabilities. There are no personal members in the Finnish Paralympic Committee. The Committee is a national actor and lobbyist of its members and obeys the ethical codes and principles of sports and physical activity.

The Finnish Paralympic Committee's office is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Strategy of the Finnish Paralympic Committee (png)