MARIGOT—Thanks to a concerted effort made by several partners, a first sports event has been organised for handicapped children and adults, or those of reduced mobility, in the Sports Hall of Jean-Louis Vanterpool Stadium in Marigot this coming Saturday, March 19, from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
Some 50 children supported by 100 parents are expected to take part. The event has been driven by the St. Martin Football League as the principal organiser while the representative from Delegation Regionale Academique a la Jeunesse, a L’ Engagement et aux Sports (DRAJES) for St. Martin and St. Barths, Marc Fabre, has solicited the participation of associations specialising in the welfare of the handicapped or those with special needs. Marine trades association Métimer is also a partner
Children will be participating from associations Tournesol, Service d’ Éducation Specialisée et de Soins a Domicile (SESSAD), Union Sportive de L’Enseignemnt du Premier degré (USEP) and COBRACED.
In addition, a number of sports associations and clubs will be taking part and organising activities and workshops. They are: Football League of St. Martin (Futsal), Wind Adventures (sailing and windsurfing demonstrations on land simulators), Windy Reef, Backayard Pro (basketball), ABC Inter-Sports (boxing), Shidokan (karate), the Badminton Association, and Juventus Football Club of St. Martin
The event, sponsored by Motorworld, is being financed by the French State through DRAJES. The objective is to hold the event two or three times per year.
“We are the project coordinator for this event which was implemented by DRAJES and USEP,” explained President of the St. Martin Football Association, Aristide Conner. “We’ve got children with disabilities coming from the whole territory. I’m not sure about the coordination with the Dutch side but definitely the Dutch side will be participating in the event on May 14.
“For too long we have not catered to disabled children, they have been left behind in the shadows,” he added. “So, this is a good opportunity for them to participate and socialise, with other able-bodied children. Trained educators and sports instructors specialised in working with disabilities will all be present to supervise the children.”
Conner indicated this event was one of the objectives for his presidency. “We are going to do this event as often as possible. Unfortunately, on this island we don’t have the right infrastructure and nothing for people with disabilities. Hopefully, this event will shine a spotlight on this sector of the population.”
