With all participants and tutors now safely arrived back to their respective homes, it is time to look back on the most recent set of World ParaVolley Courses held in Africa.
From December 3-9, 49 fully-funded participants gathered in Maputo, Mozambique to take part in four World ParaVolley courses: referees, classifiers, coaches and administrators. The success of these courses was in large part due to a generous funding grant from the Agitos Foundation, which permitted all participants to be fully funded. While the initial hope was that fifteen participants would be able to participate within the budget, all participating nations and individuals recognized the importance of the courses to their region and worked together to maximize the participation levels.
In summary:
- Coach course: 20 participants
- Referee course: 15 participants
- Administration course: 8 participants
- Classifier course: 6 participants
- 17 Women participated in the courses
- Nations represented: Botswana, Egypt, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
World ParaVolley would like to thank the following individuals and organizations without whose support the courses would not have been possible:
- Agitos Foundation
- ParaVolley Africa
- Mozambique Volleyball Federation
- Luis Rodriguez de Vera – Vice President of the National Paralympic Committee of Mozambique
- Anton Raimondo – ParaVolley Africa Communications Manager and President of ParaVolley South Africa
- The lead tutors:
- Coach course: Dr. Mosaad Elaiuty – Egypt
- Referee course: Erick Gaju – Rwanda
- Classifier course: Dr. Innocent Komakech – Uganda
- Administration course: Mayamba Sitali – Zambia
These courses represent an encouraging and significant step forward for the South African nations, and pave the way for future development of ParaVolley in the region.