Paralympics association members attend three-day workshop |25 October 2023

The workshop in progress (Photo: Neil Sirame)

Members of the Paralympics Association of Seychelles are following a three-day workshop being run by International Paralympics Committee consultant Anna Derichi.

Taking place at the National Sports Council (NSC) boardroom, the workshop began yesterday and will end tomorrow.

In an interview with Sports NATION, chairperson of the Paralympics Association of Seychelles, Dr Lucia Banane, said they are a member of the international body and the aim of the workshop is to address some concerns and issues that they have been facing.

Since the association has been dormant for a while, they hope to gather, through the workshop, the dos and don’ts of Paralympics worldwide.

Dr Banane also said they will be reviewing the correlation between the guidelines of the IPC and their constitution to see where they could adapt new strategy for the progress of the Paralympics Association of Seychelles. She mentioned that each day they will touch different subjects in terms of issues they are facing – the constitution, grants available, coaching projects and administrative techniques.

Dr Banane mentioned that following the completion of the workshop and with new knowledge acquired they expect to have a more solid and structured association as they have noticed areas which they can improve on, adding that they will also need more personnel to work with the athletes to better prepare them to take part in international events.

According to the chairperson, the association had been dormant for almost five years, but they recently requested permission from the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) to restart operations. The local association pays a yearly membership fee of 110 euros to the IPC.

Dr Banane said they will be working hard to have a delegate represent Seychelles in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. She noted that their athletes have already begun preparing for the Games in Paris, adding that the Indian Ocean Islands Games in Madagascar provided them with an idea of how the events might be.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will feature around 4,400 athletes around the globe who will compete in 549 medal events. The Paralympic Games are scheduled from August 28 to September 8, 2024. The IPC is the global governing body for the Paralympics movement. It organises the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports. Its headquarters are based in Bonn, Germany and it is also a non-profit organisation.

Neil Sirame