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Para Games postponement hurts training for Paralympics
After previously being postponed to March this year, a regional sporting event for people with impairments, the ASEAN Para Games, has been deferred indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak that has spread to more than 20 countries around the globe
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span>After previously being postponed to March this year, a regional sporting event for people with impairments, the ASEAN Para Games, has been deferred indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak that has spread to more than 20 countries around the globe.
The announcement arrived on Monday as Southeast Asia’s main organization for para sports, the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF), informed Indonesia’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of the second postponement.
After careful deliberation among executive committee members regarding “the physical and emotional well-being of all participating para athletes and staff” APSF’s board of governors secretary Osoth Bhavilai said a majority of the members had agreed that the 10th ASEAN Para Games hosted by the Philippines should be postponed indefinitely, with possible reconsideration within the year should the coronavirus outbreak be effectively contained.
“The Philippines [as the host country] should notify the APSF and our ASEAN NPC members at least 60 days ahead before launching the 10th ASEAN Para Games,” the letter said.
The Philippines, the country that reported on Feb. 2 the first death from the coronavirus outside of China, previously moved the biennial event from January to March this year, citing technical difficulties in staging the event. Later, the host country expressed its readiness to hold the event from March 21 to 27.
Commenting on the delay, NPC deputy secretary-general Rima Ferdianto said most of about 300 para athletes had expressed disappointment upon hearing the news, as they had been preparing to compete in March.
The postponement, Rima said, also meant that the NPC needed to make adjustments to the training funding for the Paralympics squad to cover the expenses of preparing for the pending ASEAN Para Games.
“The training funds for the NPC this year [were meant to be] purely for the Paralympics. Now, we have to use the funds to subsidize the extension of the training period [for the ASEAN Paralympic Games],” Rima told The
Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
“This prevents us from giving [the athletes] the ideal honorarium and equipment [that we had planned],” he said.
The head of the Youth and Sports Ministry international sports achievement division, Yayan Rubaeni, said the NPC would receive about Rp 80 billion (US$5.8 million) for the Paralympics preparation. Now with the postponement, the ministry estimates that the NPC needs to disburse about Rp 10 billion each month for athletes’ salaries and accommodation during the postponement period only, he said.
Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali admitted that the postponement meant extra money for the team’s preparation but suggested that the NPC keep going ahead with the training.
“Following this announcement, we are preparing several options, whether we continue the training process or send athletes home. But most likely, we will send them home,” Rima said.
He went on to say that the NPC would continue the training until the end of March, before sending the athletes home in April and May for Ramadan and the Idul Fitri holiday.
The NPC will summon the athletes back in June or July but tell them to train only for the development program and not for the ASEAN Para Games should the new date have yet to be announced.
“Forcing them to keep practicing will not be good for their mental health, as they have been preparing for the event for a year.”
Rima added that Thailand and Singapore had set a deadline of September as the last month to stage the event, since the two countries could only allocate funds for their squads until September.
“If the situation [regarding the coronavirus outbreak] hasn’t improved until September and the ASEAN Para Games are eventually canceled, the athletes will keep on practicing for the next event,” Rima said.
“However, athletes preparing for the Tokyo Paralympics will keep on practicing and will not be sent home,” he added.
