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But not only fully abled athletes are working hard to get those coveted medals. Also this year, the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games is scheduled to take place on August 29 to Sept. 9, also in London. Differently abled athletes are also preparing for this special sporting event.
There will be 12 Filipino athletes who will be competing in the Summer Olympic Games, while the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently-Abled and the Paralympic Committe of the the Philippines (PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines) has four to eight paralympic athletes to qualify in the international event. PhilSPADA-NPC is the national sports association that spearheads activities and training of Filipino persons with disabilities who are into sports and physical fitness.
“The Paralympics is the highest level of competition for athletes with disabilities. The goal is certainly elusive but it’s something for our athletes to work hard for,’’ says PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines chairman Michael Barredo.
PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines is pinning its hopes on some of our cyclists and power lifters to have a good chance of getting a medal, Barredo adds.
Aside from PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines, the Department of Education (DepEd) is also leading the way in training young Filipino paralympic athletes. Recently, the education department announced that it would conduct several basic and advanced training of trainors and coaches for differently-abled persons.
“There is a need to establish a pool of coaches, trainors, technical officials and classifiers who can help differently-abled athletes in all levels of competition,” shares DepEd secretary Br. Armin Luistro, FSC.
DepEd released Memorandum 100, series of 2012, stating that the DepEd’s Schools Sports Events and Activities Unit (SSEAU) will lead the training as well as technical and classification seminars and organize and train coaches and trainors on the proper system of coaching and training athletes with disabilities.
“Part of inclusive education is giving our differenty-abled athletes the kind of training and other support services they need to optimize their potential as a total person,” Luistro says.
The training program will also lead to the identification of outstanding differently-abled athletes and the installation of a correct classification for visually impaired and orthopedically handicapped athletes.
Barredo says that it is important to properly train coaches based on the disability and physical and mental limitations of the athletes.
“Coaches have to be sensitive of the disability of the person. When you talk about the visually-impaired, amputees, those with intellectual disabilities, etc., you have to understand their limitations,” Barredo explains.
The DepEd training program has three components — training of the trainors and coaches, technical and classification seminars, and talent identification. They will be held separately in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The team has already started with the first leg of the training last June at the University of Mindanao in Davao City, attended by coaches and athletes from Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and CARAGA.
The second leg recently wrapped up in Cebu City where coaches and athletes from Regions 6, 7, and 8 participated.
The last leg will be conducted on Sept. 21 to 23, at the Narcisio Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen, Pangasinan for coaches and athletes of Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 4-B, Region 5, National Capital Region, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
Participating athletes for the talent identification will include orthopedically handicapped and visually impaired athletes in sports like athletics, swimming, table tennis, goalball, futsal , and boccia.
With the training program, DepEd hopes that they can reach Paralympic standards when it comes to training special athletes, as well as discovering a new breed of athletes.
DepEd also says that the training may also be used by PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines in selecting members of the Philippine team for international competitions like the paralympics.
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