Bernard Atha obituary

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Bernard Atha CBE, the founding Chair of the British Paralympic Association (BPA), who passed away peacefully on 22nd October aged 94.

His contribution to the development of sport for disabled people internationally and nationally was immense.

As the founding chair of the BPA he helped to consolidate and bring together the groups of national disability sport organisations which created the British Paralympic Committee before it became the BPA in 1989.

He was succeeded as Chair of the BPA by Dr Bob Price, OBE, who recalls: “I first came across Bernard through his association with the predecessor of International Paralympic Committee, the ICC (International Co-coordinating Committee Sports for the Disabled in the World); it was also with Bernard that we served as the UK’s representatives on the European Union Committee on Sport for People with Disabilities.

“He was passionate about inclusion and was instrumental in the inclusion of athletes with an intellectual disability at the Games.”

He continued supporting the BPA as an Honorary Vice President and was still chair of the Disability Sports Development Trust until eighteen months ago before being succeed by another former BPA chair, Mike Brace CBE.

Bernard’s character and values are reflected in the thoughts of Tony Sainsbury OBE, Chef de Mission of the British Paralympic team at five Games: “I can honestly say I never heard him have a bad word for a single person. His contribution to our Paralympic world is inestimable and his commitment immeasurable and we were fortunate to have him in our world, yet his contribution in so many other fields was immense.”

All at the BPA thank Bernard for his extraordinary life and his immense contribution to this organisation.

RIP Bernard Atha CBE