The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) is an international sports organization that governs sports for athletes with a disability.

IWAS is headquartered at Stoke Mandeville Stadium

Stoke Mandeville Stadium

Stoke Mandeville Stadium is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom. It is sited alongside Stoke Mandeville Hospital near Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire...

 in Stoke Mandeville

Stoke Mandeville

Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, and is a registered charity

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

.

IWAS is the international governing body for wheelchair fencing

Wheelchair fencing

Wheelchair fencing is a version of Fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair Fencing that is a federation of the International Paralympic Committee, and is one of the sports in the Summer Paralympic Games.-Classification:*class A *class B...

 and until 2010 for wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair rugby, , is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is currently practiced in over twenty countries around the world and is a Paralympic sport....

 (now governed by IWRF). IWAS also governs other sport competitions for athletes who use a wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

 and athletes with amputation

Amputation

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...

s, including athletics, cue sports, and lawn bowls.

History

IWAS was formed in 2005 by a merger of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF) (which was formerly known as the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF)) and the International Sports Federation of the Disabled (ISOD). ISOD had been founded by the International War Veterans Association in 1964.