Paul DePace
2007
A native Rhode Islander who grew up in Providence, Paul’s life took a dramatic turn while a junior at the University of Rhode Island when an injury from an automobile accident opened a path to community service and sport. Paul became an advocate for persons with disabilities in the state of Rhode Island and in the field of sport for persons with disabilities. His volunteerism would eventually take him around the world to places such as Beijing, Moscow, Seoul, Dubai, Sydney, Christchurch, Cape Town, and Tehran.
Although Paul’s contributions and accomplishments as an athlete are numerous and stellar, perhaps his greatest contributions to the world of the wheelchair sports movement were as an administrator, ambassador, and advocate. In 1971, Paul helped organize the first Rhode Island wheelchair track and basketball teams and was one of the founders of the parent organization, PARI—a nonprofit organization advocating for persons with disabilities. He served as PARI’s president through 1977. Paul also served as the President of the New England Wheelchair Athletic Association from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1986 to 1988. He also served 18 years as chairman of the National Wheelchair Athletic Association, later renamed Wheelchair Sports USA.
Paul chaired a committee in 1977 which placed the first seven wheelchair athletes in the Boston Marathon and continued to serve on the committee for five years after. On an international level, Paul served on the Board of Directors of the USOC from 1998 to 2003 and as Chef de Mission for Team USA at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona. He served on the Executive Committee of the International Paralympic Committee from 2001 to 2005.
Paul was Chairman of the Board of the United States Disabled Sports Team and served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Paralympic Games Organizing Committee from 1993 to 1996. He was Vice President of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF) from 1998 to 2001 and President from 2001 to 2003. Paul also served as President of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation (IWAS) from 2003 to 2018, overseeing the merger of two international federations.
Paul was awarded the Paralympic Order by the International Paralympic Committee and was inducted into the Rhode Island Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame at the Institute of International Sport. At the New England Wheelchair Games, he was given the Sportsmanship Award in 1971 and the Official’s Award in 1977. He also received the Outstanding Contribution Award in 1983 from the New England Wheelchair Sports Association. Paul was named Inspirational Athlete of the Year at the National Wheelchair Games in 1974.
Paul has attended or played a part in eleven Paralympic competitions, including Toronto, London, Seoul, Barcelona, Tignes/Albertville, Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino, and Beijing. Wherever Paul’s travels took him, the impact he had on the adaptive sports movement was immeasurable.