Elite ‘Para’ athletes and coaches from the five Pacific countries to undergo the six-day ‘High Performance Training’ at Solomon Islands National Institute of Sport (SINIS) have arrived today.

They will be joining Solomon Islands as the 'sixth country' to undergo the 'High Performance Training'.

SINIS has been chosen by the Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC) to host the elite athletes and coaches from the Pacific countries starting today March 19, through to Saturday, March 25.

Athletes and Coaches from Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands (SI) will engage in athletics, table tennis, powerlifting and archery during these six days program. They will be supported by high performance international coaches from Australia, to provide mentorship.

The athletes will also have support from the SINIS ‘Performance Support’ staff who will provide a range of services as well as an education series during the High Performance camp. For general knowledge, SINIS was chosen by OPC as the most suitable location to invite fellow Pacific coaches and athletes together.

According to Chris Nunn from OPC, the newly established SINIS facilities provide an ideal training environment for coaches and athletes.

Combined with the professional expertise on hand, it can be expected for all camp participants to enhance their skills over the coming days.

OPC President Paul Bird having expressed his excitement as well for the program said it is hoped the opportunity will perfect coaching, trainings and competition skills, and that it will also motivate athletes to be the best they can be.

“My thanks is extended to SINIS for their outstanding support and guidance in enabling this event to occur,” said Bird.

Solomon Islands National Paralympic Committee (SINPC) President Nihal Seneviratne and the Parasport national coaches have selected a competitive squad of youth and experience across the four sports to attend the ‘High Performance Camp’.

Another partner in this program is the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the 'PacificAusSports program'.
The athletes and coaches will engage in five days of training before a competition will be held on the final day.

Athletes will also go through the ‘critical classification process’ which helps identify their sport classification to compete in specific Para sport events.
SINIS Performance Manager (PM) for Portfolio three (Racquet, Aquatic, Target and Individual sports), Jackie Travertz in welcoming the Coaches and athletes to the High Performance Centre today expressed looking forward to the six days program.

“We are really excited to host them here at SINIS. We hope they will learn from all international Coaches as well as our PST staff and have a great experience here,” said Travertz.

Source: SINIS Media