KPC holds Youth Para-Sports Camp

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Korea Paralympic Committee (KPC) organised the 2015 KPC Youth Para-Sports Camp held 22 June - 1 July with the aim to foster potential young athletes and allow them to learn from para-athletes, and contribute to the growth of para-sports in developing countries.

The camp was held at KPC Icheon Training Centre, a multi-training sports complex exclusively established for South Korean national para-athletes.

Under the slogan “Now Dream, Tomorrow Paralympian!” 56 athletes with impairments and coaches from 10 different countries were invited, including Ecuador, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

During the 10-day event, youngsters had the opportunity to experience training from para-athletes in five sports: archery, boccia, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair tennis.

Participants also had the chance to tour South Korea and experience the culture and tradition. On the first day of the Korean Culture Experience programme, Kyung-won Na, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board member and Chairperson of Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, National Assembly of Korea, invited participants to the National Assembly, where she welcomed all participants and gave them sports equipment, such as archery and boccia sets.

Young-A Jung, a London 2012 Paralympic bronze medallist, took part in the camp, assisting as a coach for table tennis. She decided to sponsor 18-year-old Thapa Shiva from Nepal, who recently has faced many difficulties due to the deadly earthquake in the country earlier this year.