JPA makes plans for Paralympic academy

PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Paralympic Association (JPA) Christopher Samuda says he will be putting plans into place this year to establish a Paralympic academy. According to Samuda, this academy will provide opportunities for para-athletes in the educational sector.

Samuda said he will be engaging the corporate sector as well as the education sector in hopes of getting the JPA’s plans for a Paralympic academy underway.

These plans are a part of the JPA’s initiative to create opportunities for para-athletes outside of their sporting disciplines.

“We’re encouraging, of course, diversity and we will hopefully, this year, start the ball rolling in establishing a Paralympic academy and putting together some business interests, both nationally as well as internationally. I’m putting together educators and we will start our meetings this year in order to establish that academy,” he said.

Samuda explained that the plans for such an academy came after seeing the need to create opportunities for para-athletes.

The academy will be an option for individuals who otherwise would not be able to enter a mainstream educational institution. The academy will be built under the initiative of the JPA educational campaign, which falls under their ‘I am Phenomenal’ campaign which was launched last year.

“I saw the need recently and it is part of our educational campaign as well because the academy will not only be for educational opportunities, but also for where you eat, sleep and breathe sports and at the same time, you’ll be getting an academic career and opportunities where whether you want to be a doctor, lawyer or teacher.

“The Jamaica Paralympic Association launched last year a campaign called ‘I am Phenomenal’. This is part of the ‘I am Phenomenal’ campaign’. So it is an important part of the sports education sector of this country and we see that as being very important, as it gives our para-athletes and para-Olympians, who cannot go into the mainstream, an opportunity to be educated and pursue career options.”

Samuda explained while the academy will have requirements for its students to enrol, it will also be geared towards those who have struggled academically.

According to Samuda, the programme will have a special focus to ensure that all students enrolled in the academy will be given an equal opportunity to achieve success. This comes from the JPA’s belief that each student can succeed despite a ‘rocky start’ to their schooling.

“There are, of course, going to be requirements for entry into the academy and we will also be thinking of terms for those who do not have the academic qualifications because sometimes persons bloom at later stages. Therefore, we will be looking at persons who normally would not enter the academic arena by virtue of not having the qualifications.

“There are some scholars who have had rocky starts who have of course contributed significantly to their field of endeavour, not only in Jamaica but in the region at large and in the world. We don’t see ourselves as persons with disabilities. We are able persons with a difference. The ‘I am Phenomenal’ campaign encapsulates that philosophy.”