Thursday 18 / April / 2024
Muscat: In partnership with BP Oman, Oman Paralympic Committee launched the first level of the National Paralympic Coaching Course at the Amal Club in Muscat, as part of the SailFree programme.
The SailFree programme is implemented in partnership with Oman Sail and was first launched in 2019 introducing persons with disabilities (especially with physical impairment) to the sport of sailing in Oman.
The course aims to train 20 coaches, eight of which are Oman Sail coaches, to obtain a nationally accredited certificate in the field of para-sports. They will also be trained in the intermediate and advanced levels to develop their theoretical and practical knowledge in para-sports.
The first level of the course included topics around the Paralympic movement, parasports committees’ structures and hierarchies, the classification, methods and history of parasports, and the role of the coach in influencing the lives of people with disabilities.
Shamsa Al-Rawahi, BP Oman social investment manager, commented: “One of BP’s vision, in Oman and globally, is to align with our sustainability framework which highlights the importance of being inclusive of all individuals within a society. This programme is a great example of working to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within society by allowing young disabled Omanis to compete in local and international competitions. I would like to add that bp globally has partnered with the British Paralympic Association for 12 consecutive years, to enable paralympics to compete at five Paralympic games.”
Dr Mansoor Al Tauqi, President of the Oman Paralympic Committee, further added: “This course is the first of its kind in our region and acts as a fully-integrated course to qualify and equip trainers to coach in paralympic sports. This, in turn, will make the Sultanate one of the leading countries in providing quality training services to qualify technical parasailing coaches according to international standards. We are truly thankful to BP Oman for their continuous support.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Oman Sail, Dr Khamis Al Jabri, commented: “We are incredibly proud to launch a National Paralympic Coaching Course and enhance the knowledge base of our coaches as well as inspire athletes across the nation. The commitment of our partners, BP Oman, the Oman Paralympic Committee and the Al Amal Occupational Centre has enabled us to deliver a long-term, national initiative that is beneficial to people with disabilities in our society and it will further benefit our coaches at Oman Sail to support those individuals.”
