Some 61 contestants took part in the 19th Annual Independence Swimming Meet for persons living with disabilities (PWDs), at the Colgrain swimming pool yesterday.
The meet, which is sponsored by the National Sports Commission (NSC), saw individuals participating in events in various categories.
Races were also scheduled for amputees and the visually impaired, but there were no contestants in those events.
The meet commenced with the 25 yards freestyle for the 15-and-under and 16-and-over male and female categories. In the female class Kelly-Ann Persaud of Special Needs School (SNS), the only participant in the 15-and-under category won the race, while Coleen Roberts of Open Doors was first in the 16-and-over category.
For the males, the 15-and-under category had Walter Hemraj of David Rose in first place, Mohamed Khan of SNS in second and Akeem Johnson from St. Barnabus in third.
In the 16-and-over category, Open Doors governed all top three spots with competitor Colin Sertimer in first place, Delroy Sookram in second and Jason Greene in third.
In the 10-yards tube race for the physically challenged Ladana Patoir of David Rose ruled the female category, trailed by Kristy Persaud and Tamika Octave in second and third respectively. For boys Randolph Chan put up an excellent performance and gained top spot while Joel Jordan was second and Tommy Thomas third.
The open 10-yards dog paddle went to Salomy Da Silva for females and Nanram Ramcharran for males. Shaio of David Rose won the 25-yards aquatic walk in the female class, while Cosan also from David Rose was victorious in the male category.
The last of the races, the 25 yards backstroke went to Coleen Roberts for females and Colin Sertimer for males.
The implementation of such events is one of the ways in which the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport extends an encouraging hand to PWDs, with swimming representing only a fraction of the sporting disciplines in which the ministry is involved.
Event Organizer, Wilton Spencer, remarked that the event was very beneficial for the individuals as they are afforded the opportunity to socialize in a conducive environment with their peers, as well the chance to participate in sports without feeling inadequate. He stated that such events were aimed at helping the youths to focus on their abilities rather than disabilities.
Spencer acknowledged that although his responsibilities were challenging the inspiring reward made it all worthwhile.
“It is extremely challenging, but when you work with them they make your day. Your reward is when they get to achieve what they set out to do,” Spencer noted.
