The University of Malta’s Institute for Physical Education & Sport is, together with a number of other local organisations, playing an active role in empowering the coaches of the future.
The cohort of students following the IPES Foundations of Coaching Course includes a number of hands-on sessions on indoor rowing for Para athletes (that is, athletes who have a physical, visual or, in the case of certain Para sport disciplines, an intellectual impairment).
During the sessions at the IPES facilities, students got the opportunity to test out adapted indoor rowing machines and equipment that allow athletes with trunk and/or lower body physical impairments to row.
This equipment was funded by the Small Initiatives Support Scheme (SIS) managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS) and supported by The Malta Council for Inclusion, Voluntary Organisations and Consumer Rights (MIVC) under the projects NextGen (SIS 08/2023) and Rowing for ALL, ALWAYS (SIS 14/2023) being implemented by the Malta Paralympic Committee (VO/1616) and Siggiewi Rowing Club (VO/2036) respectively.
The Malta Paralympic Committee was established in 2018 and is a member of the International Paralympic Committee. It is committed to the development of Paralympic Sport in Malta & Gozo, looking to unlock athletes’ full abilities. Prof. Joseph N. Grima, who is also an academic at UM, chairs this Committee.
“Parasport is first and foremost about athletes who are putting themselves out there and pushing themselves out of their comfort zones, but also about bringing attention to how different sports can be made more accessible to everyone.
By meeting our students’ needs with rowing in this case, we are continuing the momentum of the Committee and our shared interest with all the participating organisations after all, which is to shed light on their achievements and highlight where improvements in accessibility are needed”, Prof. Grima told Newspoint.
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