【Zimbabwe】Workshop for the Promotion of Sports for Disabled Persons in Zimbabwe
- Time Period
- 23 Sept - 4 Oct 2015
- Region
- Harare City, Republic of Zimbabwe
- Sport/Programme Category
- Workshop on skills in Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Tennis, parasports training workshop, networking event for instructors
- Implementer
- Japan Paralympic Committee
- Recipient Organisation
- Danhiko College
- Co-Implementer
- The Japanese Embassy to Zimbabwe, The International Exchange Foundation, The Japan International Cooperation Agency, The Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation, The Japan Wheelchair Tennis Federation, The Zimbabwe Paralympic Committee
- Number of Individual Beneficiaries
- 126 people
To accompany the Danhiko Parasports Tournament held at the Danhiko Private Vocational Training School in Zimbabwe, instructors were sent from the Japanese Paralympic Committee and a general workshop was held on sports for people with disabilities (a project implemented with the assistance of the International Exchange Foundation).
From the 23rd to 27th September, the Japanese Paralympic Committee sent four Wheelchair Tennis and Wheelchair Basketball teachers to Danhiko College, which is promoting inclusive education. A skills workshop was implemented for young athletes, teachers and coaches that focussed on 61 high-school students. The basketball teachers were the current Coaches of, and four-time participants in the Paralympic Games, and victors of the Japanese Championship. The tennis teachers were the former pro-Tennis players and current Coaches of the Japan Wheelchair Tennis Team, and winners of the Wimbledon World Wheelchair Tennis Championship. In addition to the technical instruction the teachers provided, the passion and sincerity they have for their sports had a great influence on the young athletes. The workshop attendees showed quick and remarkable growth. The Danhiko Parasports Tournament held from the 1st to 4th of October saw the participation of 2,880 young athletes from all over Zimbabwe. Thanks to the previous workshop, the Danhiko Wheelchair Basketball team was victorious, as were the men's Wheelchair Tennis team. This was the first time for highly physically skilled women's basketball players to be taught Tennis, but they achieved the feat of earning a bronze medal in the Wheelchair Tennis Doubles. |
In addition to the skills workshop, a lecture on parasports training was held on the 29th September. A total 37 teachers, coaches and students from five schools including the Danhiko College explained the power and value of parasports. A networking event was also held during the tournament in which 16 schools and 28 teachers exchanged opinions on linking global movements in parasports and daily parasports activities to the Danhiko Parasports Tournament and the World Paralympic Games.
Feedback from :
The Danhiko College, Zimbabwe Paralympic Committee, Bureau for Sports of the Sports & Recreation Ministry, and the First Lady of Zimbabwe (the biggest supporter of the Danhiko Parasports Tournament) praised the training workshop for vitalising Zimbabwe's society of people with disabilities, as well as its education and sporting world, and they requested that the workshops be implemented continually. The Japanese Paralympic Committee hopes to continue to promote Sports for Tomorrow together with people with disabilities who are interested in sports.