Allianz Joint Forces
Since October 2006 Allianz SE has been proud to partner the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the German National Paralympic Committee (Deutscher Behindertensportverband; DBS) in order to proactively support the global Paralympic Movement and the athletes of the German Paralympic Top Team on their way to the Paralympic Games in Beijing 2008.
"I am very pleased that Allianz, together with its partners, is able to support the people involved in the Paralympic Movement in achieving world-class performances", said Dr. Gerhard Rupprecht, Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE.
The competitiveness and the performance of Paralympic athletes are exceptional – a standard that Allianz as a global financial service provider also provides to its 60 million customers. Determined Paralympic athletes and their top performances act as role models for people whose everyday life consists of facing difficult situations and obstacles. Allianz supports those who want to succeed and are grateful for a supporting hand and assistance to achieve their goals.
Consequently Allianz together with its Paralympic partners will initiate joint projects which provide a public forum for Paralympic athletes and spokespersons of the Paralympic Movement to inform and diminish stereotyping, to exemplify courage and equality.
Allianz Gold Patronage
Key objective of the Allianz Gold Patronage is to support the IPC in its mission to enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and excite the world. By using the power of sports, the IPC promotes the rights of persons with a disability to become full and active members of society.
Paralympic Ambassador Kirsten Bruhn with kids at the International Paralympic Day in Berlin 2007.
Allianz SE and Deutsche Telekom AG as the other of the two Gold Patrons follow the integrative vision of the Paralympic Movement which is relevant to society. Apart from financial sponsorship of individual top sportsmen and sportswomen within the Top Team, making a contribution towards removing barriers and being unprejudiced in the way we treat one another represent further goals of the partnership.
Based on this fundamental understanding of performance and equality, a substantial part of Allianz' financial commitment is directly aimed at IPC's development and execution of the Paralympic Education Programs and Paralympic School Days.
The Paralympic School Day is a set of activities that educate youth about Paralympic Sport, individual differences and disability issues in a fun and playful environment. These activities can be organized during a normal school day and target an audience of young students between the ages of 6 and 15.
Further educational programs are implemented in elementary and secondary schools on a national and international scale to foster the integration of people with a disability in the early development stage.
Allianz Top Team Germany Partnership
The Paralympic Top Team was founded by the German National Paralympic Committee (DBS) in 2006 based on the financial support of Allianz SE and Deutsche Telekom AG. Top Team athletes Kirsten Bruhn and Holger Nikelis together with IPC's president Sir Philip Craven welcome Allianz' support for the Top Team.
The overall objective of this program is to enable Paralympic athletes to successfully prepare for the Paralympic Games in Beijing 2008. Since professional training is highly time-consuming, there are athletes who have difficulties in managing the highly demanding triangle of work, life and training without cutting back on income and consequently on their standard of living. For those athletes the financial support of this program is the key to success in Beijing and also for managing the demands that sport, job and family bring with them.
Naturally there a certain requirements which athletes need to fulfill in order to qualify for this program. These requirements are:
- Classifiable
- Being a candidate for a Paralympic medal for a at least one Paralympic discipline
- Membership of the German Paralympic Team
- An individual training schedule
- Approval from the chief coach
- Individual athletes have priority over team athletes
Currently the German Top Team consists of 40 athletes:
- 17 women / 23 men
- 20 amputee athletes
- 8 visually impaired athletes
- 4 athletes with cerebral palsy
- 8 athletes with spinal cord injuries