There was certainly no lack of competitiveness here as the junior boys gave their all in the 100m race. (Photo: Dennis Saw)
The inaugural National Special Schools Championships 2010 kicked off on a high with Track & Field on Friday, March 5, at the Serangoon stadium. The event, organised by the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), saw an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from 8 special schools as they sent forth a total of 161 participants.
This event, in the words of SDSC President Frankie Thanapal Sinniah, “marks a very important milestone for SDSC as it creates a platform for students to come together to socialize and to challenge each other in a friendly competition”. He explained that with this new event on the calendar, which also includes a swimming competition next Friday, March 12, students with intellectual disabilities can now look forward to more sporting events each year. It will hopefully introduce some friendly rivalry among special schools too, a theme that is so prevalent in the national schools sports scene.
Intellectually disabled athletes at the elite level in Singapore went into a decade-long hiatus from international and regional competition when the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced the exclusion of this particular group of athletes from the Athens and Beijing Paralympics after Sydney 2000. No doubt then, that the decision to re-include the intellectually disabled in the London 2012 Paralympics was very much well-received.
The special schools in Singapore are particularly delighted. Chairman of the Singapore National Paralympic Council, Tan Ju Seng, hopes that the inaugural National Special Schools Championships can serve as a “launching pad” for London.
Judging from the looks of things, the special schools are definitely more than eager to play their part.
By: Dennis Saw