BY ROMULUS HUTA
THE newly elected president of the Solomon Islands National Paralympic Committee (SINPC) has vowed to take the organisation to new heights.
Nihal Seneviratne was elected as SINPC’s new president during Sunday’s meeting held at SIRUF conference room at Town Ground.
Speaking to SunSPORTS yesterday, Mr. Seneviratne promised to uphold the main pillars mandatory to the administration of the Paralympic body which includes good governance, accountability and diversity.
“I will also make sure that this organisation will also uphold the core values at the heart of the Paralympic movement – determination, inspiration, courage and equality.
“I’m humbled by this opportunity and look forward to work with the Paralympic movement in Solomon Islands where I wish to see more people living with disability are encouraged to get involve in sport and physical activity for the positive impact it can have on their lives.
“The Paralympic movement in Solomon Islands represents those unheard ones who also want to take part in sport. This organisation promotes positive values and we have a vision and strategy to help maximise our growth so that our people in Solomon Islands can be aware of the importance of the Paralympic movement here.
“Over the years, we have Para athletes who have represented Solomon Islands in international sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Pacific Games and some have managed to come out with success by winning medals for the country, like any other athlete. On that note, I would like to see more of that in the coming years,” Mr. Seneviratne expressed.
“We expect the ride ahead to be tough and challenging where we would need a lot of support from the community, especially our main stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health and other agencies such as the National Sports Council and National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands plus other respectful sporting bodies in the country to move the Solomon Islands Paralympic body forward,” he added.
Meanwhile, following Sunday’s election, the other officials who were voted in to assist Mr. Seneviratne are Fa’amoana Topue (Vice- President), Casper Pule (General Secretary), Nina Davis (Treasurer), George Tapo (Executive Member), Nathan Siofa (Executive Member) and Hellen Teioli (Athletes’ Representative Executive).
