Team heads out for deaf-lympics

Normal, Sports
Source:

By ELIZABETH VUVU

A TEAM comprising 12 deaf athletes left Kokopo on Tuesday to attend a first of its kind national Deaf-lympics event in Madang.
The sporting event was expected to attract more than 19 provincial teams.
They will be participating in track and field events at next week’s weeklong meet in the 100 200m and 400m sprints and the 4 x100m and 4 x 400m relays and field events including javelin and shot put.
According to provincial education promoter Emanuel Melchior of the Country Quality Education and Health Deafness Project, the event had been funded by the project which is a mission under the European Union and Aus Aid.
Melchior said team members ages range from an 11 to 20 with most coming from Kokopo and surrounding villages.
He said there were no selections made because the participants were mostly clients of the Callan Services Centre in Kokopo where the project is being rolled out.
He said the event might be an avenue for selections of representatives for the province, likely for the 2012 PNG Games Paralympic team.
He further commended support from the Youth and Sports representative in the provincial assembly Cleopas Warpit and the participants’ parents.
The PNG Deaf-lympics was deferred from last year due to the PNG Games in Port Moresby.