Australian Genevieve Duff, left, and Briton Philip Dorward, right, have been appointed to key roles by the International Paralympic Committee ©IPC

Australian Genevieve Duff has been appointed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the acting director of a new department focussing on athlete classification.

She is one of two key appointments announced by the IPC, along with Philip Dorward.

The Briton has joined the IPC in the newly-created role of head of communications. 

Classification remains the Paralympic Movement's most controversial subject. 

A qualified physiotherapist from Perth in Australia, with a background in services for children and adults with physical, intellectual and vision impairments, Duff has been working in Paralympic sport since 2007. 

She is one of the IPC’s most experienced classification educators having operated as a World Para Athletics senior classifier and educator since 2010.   

Having been involved in various Agitos Foundation projects she has had, it is claimed, involvement across the spectrum from grassroots Para sport to Paralympic team preparation.

From 2009 until 2013 Duff was the national classification manager for Paralympics Australia.  

She has worked as an independent consultant since 2014 on numerous classification projects, several of which have addressed IPC classification education, research projects and IPC Classification Code Compliance audits.

Classification is one of the biggest issues facing the Paralympic Movement ©Getty Images
Classification is one of the biggest issues facing the Paralympic Movement ©Getty Images

Duff is due to join the IPC at its headquarters in Bonn full-time in February for the full duration of 2020 and will report to the IPC’s general counsel Liz Riley. 

She will play a key role in helping the IPC plan their international search for a permanent director of the department, with the aim of securing an appointment that starts in January 2021.

Dorward will report to chief brand and communications officer Craig Spence.

He will have responsibility for corporate communications as the IPC looks to highlight further the work it does in transforming the lives of Para athletes and show how it positively impacts societies across the world.

Dorward has over 20 years’ experience in communications, including a decade in-house at major sports organisations. 

He spent eight years as head of PR and publications at the English Premier League. 

There he was responsible for the communications for the Professional Game Match Officials, the English professional referee body.

For the last four years Dorward has been running his own communications consultancy, with clients including the England and Wales Cricket Board, Just Eat, Championship Horse Racing, MyCujoo and Charlton Athletic Football Club.