By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
Two members of the Sierra Leone National Paralympic Committee (SLE-NPC), AbdulI Mattia, an athlete, and Ibrahim Sankoh, a coach, are attending the GAPS Global Training Camp in Mauritius.
The Paralympics duo departed Freetown on Sunday, 3rd November, for the GAPS Global Training Camp in Mauritius from 4th to 13th November 2024.
Bidding farewell to the delegation, the President of Paralympic Sierra Leone, Unisa Deen Kargbo, reminded them of their duties to effectively represent Sierra Leone. He noted that the GAPS training is an opportunity provided by the Commonwealth Games Federation to train athletes in less opportune countries. He therefore called on the athletes to remain focused.
The General Administrator of the Paralympic Sierra Leone, Abu Sankoh, spoke on the need for proper behavior to maintain the country’s good image. The Financial and Administrative Secretary, Mrs. Zainab Agnes’s Wilson, presented the air tickets and other logistics support to the team.
Fifty-one Para athletes and coaches from 21 Commonwealth nations and territories attend the Global GAPS Camp, hosted by the Mauritius Commonwealth Games Association and supported by Stellenbosch University and UK Sport.
Para athletes from all six regions of the Commonwealth come together in the sport of Para Athletics for an intense week of training, competition, and personal development.
GAPS (Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain) is Commonwealth Sport’s Para sport, development, and inclusion pathway programme. It is designed to provide Para athletes and coaches with access to skills, knowledge, and resources that aid their personal development and training as they prepare for competition. The programme drives hope and motivation and builds pride and a strong sense of identity amongst the participants.
Commonwealth Sport and Griffith University originally developed GAPS and has since been expanded to Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe through partnerships with Stellenbosch University, the University of Birmingham, and the University of the West Indies.
WADA Africa, for the first time, supported the program through the delivery of the anti-doping education session.
The Mauritius Global GAPS Camp will see 21 nations and territories come together, including Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, England, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Jersey, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Uganda, and Zambia.
