KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC) hopes to get all athletes to undergo the required classification process before they head for the Sarawak Para Malaysia Games from Sep 22 to 28.
MPC, the National Youth and Sports Department and the National Sports Council organised a three-day national classifier course to prepare officials to conduct the athlete classification process before the games.
The course, which was held at a hotel in Ampang, concluded today.
MPC president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin said the classifiers would determine which impairment category the athletes were eligible to compete in.
"Over 130 participants nationwide attended the course and we hope to do this annually to increase our pool of classifiers (officials)," said Shahriman today.
"They will be tasked with conducting the classification processes before the Sarawak Malaysia Games.
"We aim for zero classifications done in Sarawak. So all classification processes must be completed in the athletes' respective states.
"We have had cases in the past where athletes only underwent the classification process once they reached the Malaysia Games venue.
"Some of them had to be turned away as they did not meet the requirements for the categories that they had intended to compete in.
"This was disappointing for them and also wasted money as they had already travelled to the competition venue."
The Sarawak Malaysia Games will again feature 10 sports, as it did during the 2022 edition held in Kuala Lumpur.
The number of events, however, is set to increase from 294 previously to 334 this year.
