The Impact of International Contacts on the Development of Sport for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Poland in the 1970s

In the 1970s, sport for the blind and visually impaired became a full participant in the international sports movement of people with disabilities. During this period, blind and visually impaired athletes made their debut at the Paralympic Games (Toronto 1976) and specialist committees were established within the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind and the European Regional Committee of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind to develop sport among blind people. In Poland, in the period discussed, the organization coordinating and supervising the development of sport for the blind and visually impaired was the Sports Association of the Workers' Cooperative “Start”, in the structures of which the Subcommittee for Sport for the Blind operated. The “Start” Association was an organization representing the community of blind and visually impaired athletes in international contacts, which were maintained on two levels. The first one was organizational, legislative and educational cooperation pursued by activists and coaches. Representatives of Poland took an active part in the work of sports committees operating at the above-mentioned international organizations, as well as established contacts with national organizations dealing with sport for the blind and visually impaired. In turn, the second level consisted in the contacts of athletes maintained through sports competition. In the period discussed the representatives of Poland took an active part in the most important sports events dedicated to the blind and visually impaired, including: the Paralympic Games, the Games of the Disabled with Various Conditions or the European Sports Games of the Blind, which Poland hosted.