Nat’l Paralympic Games kicks off in Marikina

CLOSE to 600 disabled athletes from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao get to strut their wares as the 5th PSCPHILSPADA National Paralympic Games swings into to action at the Marikina Sports Center and neighboring venues on Tuesday.

“We have a bigger field compared to last year because we have more sports so we now have a total of 10 disciplines in all,” said Philippine Sports Association for Disabled Athletes executive director Dennis Esta.

Esta said included in the fifth edition of the sportsfest supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Marikina City government led by Mayor Del de Guzman are athletics, swimming, badminton, chess, boccia, powerlifting, goalball, table tennis, wheelchair basketball and tenpin bowling.

He added that yesterday and most of to- day was set aside for the classification of athletes depending on the severity of their disabilities in four categories: visually impaired, orthopedically handicapped, intellectually disabled and deaf.

“Our medical staff will classify our athletes based on the four categories mentioned to determine how severe their disabilities are,” he explained. “This is done so that athletes will be going up against rivals with virtually the same level in their respective sports.”

Esta bared that members of the national team that saw action in the 2015 Singapore ASEAN Para Games will also see action in the meet also supported by the Department of Interior and Local Government ( DILG) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Filipino campaigners captured 16 gold, 17 silver and 26 bronze medals to place seventh overall in the 10- nation Singapore Para Games.

The PHILSPADA official, however, explained that entries who best national athletes during the fiveday sportsfest will not automatically be included in the national pool “because we have to look at their performances and compare them with our present records, especially in the measurable sports.”

Simple opening rites will usher in the 5th PSC-PHILSPADA Para Games at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Marikina Sports Center track oval led by PSC chairman Richie Garcia and POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. and PHILSPADA chairman Mike Barredo.

Also invited to grace the affair are Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Local Government Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, Congressmen Miro Quimbo, Yeng Guiao, Wes Gatchalian and Anthony del Rosario, and Mayor De Guzman. PhilSPADANPC Philippines is the national sports association for physically impaired athletes, tasked to spearhead developing sport competency for Filipino persons with disabilities. It is the Philippine National Paralympic Committee recognized by the International Paralympic Committee.

The Philippine Sports Commission provides funding support for Philspada-NPC Philippines' operations and sport competitions. Just like the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philspada-NPC Philippines is the parallel organization sending qualified disabled national athletes to represent the country in international competitions, from regional to the elite, Paralympic level. PNA