Disabled ladies are preparing to compete in the first ever National Paralympics championship this weekend at the NPC gym at Amahoro Stadium.

"The role in the championship will encourage disabled ladies to stop shying away and join,” said Marie-Claire Dinnar Iriza, Gender representative in the National Paralympics Committee, NPC.

Seatball and Seating Volleyball have been selected for this inaugural event. This year, six female and seven male teams will participate in the one-day event. According to the organizers, the championship will be played in four phases with the first phase starting today.

Iriza urged disabled women to put aside inferiority complexes, be active and realize their advantages in Paralympics games. According to Erie Manirarora, NPC technical director, the number of women actively engaged in Paralympics games is still very low.

"We need women in Paralympics games,” Manirarora said, before adding that, "We are taking Seatball as the major sensitization tool this season.”

The women will compete in just Seatball while the men will compete in both but Manirarora noted that, if all goes according to plan, the women are expected to play Seating Volley ball next year.

"Seating Volleyball is very technical and requires early age training especially for the women,” he stated.

The Germany Embassy has donated uniforms, Seatball balls and Volleyball nets to female teams and Goalball balls to male teams.

This year’s event has been boosted by the entrance of three new teams; Ubumwe of Rubavu, Gatagara from Rwamagana and Butare’s Nyanza, with the major absentees being Imena and Musanze.

By press time, the National Paralympics Committee had yet to secure sponsorship but officials were locked in negotiations with several of their usual partners, among them is Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), Handicap International, Volunteers Over Seas (VSO).

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