Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC) Secretary-General, Michael Hamukwaya, has said 2022 will be a very busy year because of the shift in their athletic calendar in 2021.
In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, Hamukwaya said the hosting of the 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic shortened their athletic cycle.
“We only have three years to work towards the Paris 2024 Paralympics instead of the usual four-year cycle, which puts a lot of pressure on the federation,” he said.
He added that for the NPC to have its athletes in top shape, they have lined up several competitions to compete in but a lack of funds might hamper their planning.
“Starting this weekend, we are going to have some of our athletes taking part in the Athletics Namibia Grand Prix in Swakopmund. We also have major international competitions such as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Grand Prix which will be held in Dubai in February, and the Commonwealth Games which are slated for July in Birmingham in the United Kingdom,” Hamukwaya said.
The secretary-general stated that their current priority is however the NPC national championships, which are scheduled for the weekend of 25 to 30 January 2022 in Windhoek.
“This year we are going to host blind football and athletics so we are expecting to host athletes from all 14 regions because the last time we hosted a national championship, Kavango West, Otjozondjupa and Kunene did not attend,” he said.
He added that the South African Sports Association for Physically Disabled Championship which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in March, is another event which is earmarked to unearth new talent from Namibia.
Hamukwaya also added that this year the Commonwealth Games and the IPC World Athletics Championships will be held in August and this platform will be used to build a team that will represent Namibia at the 2023 African Games.
“Competing at international competitions hosted by the IPC will get some of our athletes classified and ranked and our goal this year was to introduce a lot of young athletes to international competitions, but with limited funding, we might struggle to compete in all these championships,” he said.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
