THE Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled seeks more partnership with private entities in a bid to further boost the chances of the differently abled athletes competing outside the country.
Michael Barredo, president of Philspada, said the organization, which takes care of the differently abled athletes in the country eyes more partnership with the private sector for funding and trainings abroad.
Barredo spoke to more than 100 differently abled athletes from the Cordillera region including coaches during the Baguio Paralympic Summit together with Philippine Paralympian powerlifter Adeline Dumapong, an alumna of the US Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program.
The Philspada official added with the summit, they hope to rejuvenate paralympic sports in the country and establish offices in the regions to strengthen the organization and expand the athletes’ pool nationwide and enlarge the scope of Philippine Paralympic sports to include para golf, para hockey, para chess and others.
The event is a part of the nationwide summit which started last month with the theme "Transcending Barriers through Sports" as various sports personalities converge to discuss what the Philippine Paralympic scene needs for its betterment.
Discussed during the summit are the Paralympic Movement, the Paralympics Classification System, medical sports science and anti-doping, the achievements and plight of Filipino para-athletes, para-athletes’ actual experiences in foreign competition and PPC-Philspada’s plans and programs for the next three years.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, who also spoke during the summit said with the broad cooperation of the two country
“I am a strong believer in making sure that all of us have the opportunity to excel and seeing these PWD athletes is incredibly inspiring which shows commitment and their energy,” said Kim. (Roderick Osis)