| Sports |
Ela Motors allows for 20 athletes to
compete
By HENRY MORABANG
DISABLED sportsman and women travelling overseas for international
competition will be at the mercy of corporate company and the
government statutory bodies for financial support.
Honorary president of Disability Sports Federation Dr Kefu Ma made
these comments while receiving K5,000 from leading motor car
dealer in the country, Ela Motors, to support the PNG Disable
Sports team.
The Disable team needs more than K179,000 to send its 20-person
squad to attend the Oceania Paralympic Championship which
coincides with the Arafura Games in Darwin on May 12-19.
The Arafura championship is the last preliminary competition
before the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in China therefore PNG
sportsmen and women will have to win their respective events to
qualify.
PNG Sports Commission Disable Sports Program manager Sophie Kuasi
said yesterday that they have a preliminary squad of 25 athletes
but the number will be reduced to 20 after final trials on March
30 and April 1. The final camp is scheduled on May 5-8 before the
team leaves on May 9 for Darwin.
Dr Ma said PNG team was really banking on corporate bodies that
have a heart for disabled sportsmen and women including Ela Motors
to ensure that the teams realised their dream by taking part in
the tournament.
He thanked Ela Motors for their donation.
Already, Constantinou Group of Companies through George
Constantinou have donated K20,000, plus another K5,000 has come
from Hasting Deering.
Dr Ma said he has words from R&H management that they are also
going to provide five to six airline tickets to members of the
disable athletes.
However, he still appealed to companies and government statutory
bodies to come forward and assist the disable athletes.
Ela Motors managing director Wally Haydok said that the
sponsorship was simply a donation with no commercial ties with the
presentation of cheque.
Haydok said this was the second time for Ela Motors to support
disable sports in the country, "and it has been our policy to
assist the underprivileged that have no access to funds".
The Ela Motors sponsorship is from the portion of the company's
budget which allows for donation to non-marketable areas,
including sports.
 
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