Peach Translations and Virtus collaborate on the importance of clear communication.

There are between 2-3% of people in the world with an intellectual impairment, and being able to clearly explain the diversity within such a neurodiverse group is the starting point of a collaboration between Virtus, the international federation of sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment and Peach Translations, a leading expert in sports translation.

Virtus and Peach are working together to explore some of the challenges that Virtus in particular experiences when explaining the eligibility of athletes with intellectual impairment to people of other languages. Virtus eligibility is clearly defined and backed by research, and Virtus is the governing organisation managing the eligibility of elite athletes with intellectual impairment seeking to qualify for Paralympic Games. The collaboration with Peach seeks to better communicate about Virtus eligibility across multiple languages and to ensure context is provided when translating to languages where terms such as intellectual, disability and impairment can also translate to other meanings not related to elite athletes aspiring to become Virtus Champions.

The Virtus Global Games 2023 takes place from the 4th to the 10th of June in Vichy, France and is an international multi-sport event for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Competition takes place across 13 sports, and for some in athletics, swimming and table tennis, the Games is a qualification event for the Paris2024 Paralympic Games. The Virtus Global Games 2023 (GG2023) is hosted by the Virtus France Member, Fédération Française du Sport Adapté (FFSA), who will welcome 50 Virtus nations and a total of nearly 1100 elite athletes. For this event, Peach is supporting Virtus with the translation of some of the background information about the Virtus Global Games and its mascot Lorri. For many athletes and delegations, this is their first Global Games and for some the first interaction with the Virtus movement, which provides Virtus and Peach access to test translated content with the international delegations, to ensure context is culturally and socially consistent for Virtus members to use in their own media promotions of their teams at GG2023.

Virtus Président Marc Truffaut said,

"Virtus has a vision to create an inclusive world for people with intellectual impairment and being able to communicate and engage with more people in more countries is essential to the growth and awareness. Virtus needs partners and supporters to champion the athletes and the para movement. Working with Peach provides an opportunity to tackle mis-conceptions and improve people's understanding of intellectual impairment and the work we do at Virtus."

Peach Translations CEO Dan Peachey said,

"We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Virtus and to help champion the spirit of the Global Games. Our initial focus is on amplifying the visibility of the much-loved Lorri and increasing multilingual engagement across social media platforms, with the aim of fostering a global community that celebrates the remarkable achievements of athletes with intellectual impairment. We look forward to communicating a lasting legacy of diversity, inclusion and inspiration through the power of sport."