By Tom Degun

Tim Hollingsworth_Trafalgar_Square_September_8_2011January 17 - British Paralympic Association (BPA) chief executive Tim Hollingsworth (pictured) has revealed that his organisation have moved to redefine their brand heading into the London 2012 Paralympic Games and beyond.


Under Hollingsworth's predecessor Phil Lane, the organisation operated under the name ParalympicsGB as a brand name for all of their activities, whilst the BPA remained their registered company name that sat behind the brand.

However, since Hollingsworth took over as chief executive in May from his role as UK Sport chief operating officer, he has moved to establish the BPA as the name for the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) and ParalympicsGB only as the team that competes at the Paralympic Games.

"We have not undergone a rebrand, but have redefined our branding to suit the way the organisation is developing and to bring clarity to the current situation," explained Hollingsworth.

"There are increasingly times when we need to be distinct as the NPC, or when we need for example to be closely aligned with our colleagues at the British Olympic Association (BOA), where the activity sits outside of the scope and remit of the ParalympicsGB team.

"Equally, we have found that the certainty we sought by having a single brand has not materialised, with a number of partners not clear on how to refer to us, and names such as Para GB, Team GB, PGB, Para Team GB, to name a few, being used across all situations.

"We have therefore decided to revert to making a clear distinction and from now on operate as two brands: the BPA being the organisation (the NPC) and ParalympicsGB being the team."

british paralympic_association_17-01-12
Hollingsworth feels that the initiative will help all those involved with Paralympic sport in Britain and, that on a practical level, provide a clear and simple way to refer to his organisation.

"This should provide greater clarity to all those working with us: if we are talking about operations and branding associated with the team that we take to the Games then we refer to ParalympicsGB, but if we refer to our role within the wider disability sport landscape and the organisation then we refer to the BPA," he said.

"I lead the BPA as chief executive, whilst ParalympicsGB will be led in 2012 by Craig Hunter as Chef de Mission.

"Post-London, it is the BPA that will continue to operate throughout the quad, with ParalympicsGB coming to life again for Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and beyond.

"In this respect the obvious comparison is the successful distinction already made between the BOA and Team GB."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]