10th ASEAN PARA GAMES Moved from January Next Year to MARCH

It has become standard in multi-sporting competition events like the Olympics and regional gatherings like the Asian Games, for a special counterpart to be held sometime later that would involve athlete participants with a varied range of physical disabilities. As with the Olympics, the Paralympic Games would be held in the same year as the main multi-sport event, and in the same venues used by the current host country. Even the biannual Southeast Asian Games has its own version, the ASEAN Para Games. Following the November-December duration of the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, the corresponding Para Games were supposed to happen in January next year. But plans change.

The Manila Bulletin reports that the 10^th ASEAN Para Games will be moved from January 2020 to March, or some three months following the conclusion of the 30^th Southeast Asian Games. The news was broken by Chairman Butch Ramirez of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). The brief postponement, according to Ramirez, was in consideration of time needed to prepare new logistics as well as the constraints of funding a new multi-sport event for special athletes so soon after the main SEA Games competition last week.

To that end, PSC commissioner Arnold Agustin has been delegated by Chairman Ramirez to oversee the rescheduling of the 10^th Para Games from January to March, also at the same venues in New Clark City and other locations utilized in the recent SEA Games. Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) president Michael Barredo has also been appraised of the circumstances. In return Barredo issued a statement to make note of the date change. “While we have made every effort to prepare the Games in the past one and a half years, matters well beyond our control are compelling us to reschedule the event,” says Barredo, adding that the new date on March will allow enough for finances and logistics to be ready for the ASEAN Para Games.

Lastly, the decision to move the Para Games date has been communicated to both the ASEAN Para Sports Federation and the ASEAN counterparts of the Philippine Sports Commission, so as to coordinate with their planning committees regarding when to send their delegations for the event.

Image courtesy of Rappler