Para sports gets boost

By Cadet Reporter ABBEGAIL WAFI
PEOPLE with disabilities can represent the country as para-athletes in international events including the Paralympics.
A two-day workshop facilitated by Christopher Nunn, the lead coach and mentor for the Oceania Paralympic Committee, was held at the Taurama Aquatic Centre (Aug 8-9).
The purpose of the workshop was to get the para-athletes and coaches ready for selection for the 2020 Paralympics.
The workshop set out to make sure the athletes were aware of the physical and technical requirements from a training perspective.
Nunn worked with local coaches showing them how to put training programmes together with all the elements required for the athletes to improve.
“We want to have an understanding of what is required to have the athletes ready for selection. We would love to see Papua New Guineans getting involved in Paralympics in at least three or four sports, that is the objective,” Nunn said yesterday.
This is the first workshop in the country this year with the the Paralympic Committee aiming to equip coaches and athletes from the Pacific region especially (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, PNG and Kiribati).
“We want to have more Oceania para-athletes represent the Oceania region rather than Australia and New Zealand as they always have a lot of athletes,” Nunn said.
“With the size of its population, PNG is bigger than New Zealand so we want more athletes represented at the national level so they can come back be role models in the community,” Nunn said.
Coming up is the Arafura Games, Oceania athletics championships, Pacific Games and also the World Para athletics championships, next year.
According to Nunn, due to the next year’s busy schedule, the Oceania Paralympic Committee was running workshops with a series of tests to assess the athletes before selection with athletes to be classified in different sporting codes.
The workshop also attracted national representatives Linda Pulsan, Dia Muri, Jacklyn Traverts and Peter Pulu.