The national Paralympic season concluded at Bugesera Stadium over the weekend with teams from Musanze District winning several trophies.

The district’s teams came out on top to win the majority of the championships competed for in various sports disciplines that featured in the Paralympic championships namely Boccia, Athletics and Wheelchair Basketball.

The district was, for instance, crowned champions of the Boccia championship on Sunday, June 5, after finishing top of the table with 43 points, eight points ahead of second-placed Rutsiro. They also lead the medal table in the Athletics with 16 gold medals, 12 Silver and three Bronze medals.

Rwamagana followed in medals with six gold, four silver and two bronze medals as Nyabihu completed the top three with two gold medals, two Silver medals and one Bronze medal.

In the Wheelchair Basketball championship, Musanze men’s team were also crowned champions after beating Bugesera 16-7 in the final. Meanwhile, Kicukiro won the women’s wheelchair basketball championship after beating Gasabo 6-4 in the final.

In general, Musanze was recognized as the overall best team of the national Paralympic championships after winning silverware in all competitions in both men and women’s categories.

Dr Dieudonne Mutangana, the Secretary General of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) said the season has been a success with teams being very competitive after several months on the sidelines due to the covid-19 pandemic.

"The season has gone well and the teams are showing good progress. We are proud of the level of the performance they showed during the Paralympic season throughout the past six months,” Mutangana said.

"Some districts, however, need to change their mindset on getting more people with disabilities involved in these championships in coming seasons because they have the right to play. Musanze has been doing well and we want more districts to follow their example,” he added.