IWAS Wheelchair Fencing has revealed its calendar for 2020 ©IWAS

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing has revealed its calendar for 2020, including regional championships, World Cups and development competitions, as it prepares to celebrate a milestone year.

Asian and Americas Championships will highlight the coming 12 months, with the former taking place in Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand as part of the 2020 IWAS World Games from February 20 to 28.

The IWAS World Games will feature 12 sports in total and also include the Under-17 and Under-23 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships.

The Americas Championships are scheduled for Brazilian city São Paulo from March 15 to 18, while the European Championships, awarded to the English town of Hatfield in September 2019, are set to run from May 26 to 31.

Four World Cups are also due to take place, with the first in Hungarian city Eger from February 13 to 16.

São Paulo will then play host from March 11 to 14, just before it stages the Americas Championships, and there will also be stops in Poland's capital Warsaw, from July 3 to 6, and Pisa in Italy, from November 19 to 22.

All of these competitions offer world ranking points, which determine qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - the main highlight of a year that marks the 65th anniversary of wheelchair fencing as a competitive sport.

In 1955, at the Stoke Mandeville Games - the forerunner of the Paralympics - in English town Aylesbury, sabre was the first weapon to be added to the programme.

A nod towards 65 years of wheelchair fencing will come in Warsaw on July 7 and 8. 

The first men's and women's sabre team and category C foil and épée World Championships will help to build athlete numbers in events not on the Paralympic programme as the sport widens its reach.

Attention then turns to Tokyo 2020 from August 25 to September 6.

"Everyone is really excited about what is in store for athletes and fans," Pál Szekeres, chair of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Executive Committee, said.

"We have some fantastic locations, offering a great platform for fencers to show the world why the sport has been going from strength-to-strength for 65 years.

"I would like to thank all the competition hosts, whether they are new or have been with us for some time. 

"Everyone's contributions help us to keep growing and moving forward."