A Team of three athletes and three Officials from the Paralympic Committee of Sierra Leone left Sierra Leone for the United Kingdom on 18th April 2022 onboard a Turkish Airline, to take part in the Broom Exchange GAPS Camp and 2022 Commonwealth Games Qualification Competitions.
The team will join other members across the world in a camping program in Birmingham and also compete in several events to enable them to qualify for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The program is organized by GAPS (Gather Analyze Presents and Sustain), is a project financed by the Commonwealth Games Federation to provide an opportunity to countries that usually find it difficult to get funding to attend qualification events. Four athletes were selected from Sierra Leone (Sorie Kargbo, Brima Nelson Domawa, Rugiatu Sankoh, and George Wyndham). GAPS funded all the Air Tickets and ground costs in Birmingham.
The National Olympic Committee of Sierra and the National Paralympic Committee took the responsibility for Visas and Covid Tests. The National Sports Authority has been contacted to solicit government funding for allowances, Classification costs, and other expenses.
Before the departure of the delegation, the Team Leader of Paralympic Sierra Leone, Unisa Deen Kargbo, reminded them about their responsibility to compete well. He stressed to them that they should ensure they qualify for the Commonwealth Games. UDK urged the team members to participate well and return home to share the experience with the remaining athletes.
Para Sierra Leone will arrive on Tuesday, a day after the Opening Ceremony due to the late arrival of the passports and long transit. However, they will arrive in Morning just in time to catch up with the rest of the program.
The competitions will commence today Wednesday 20th April. NPC Sierra Leone will be in action in Men and Women Para Lifting, Tennis, and Athletics.
