Tunis/Tunisia — Participants in a conference-debate on "Reality and Challenges of Elite parasports in Tunisia," organised on Wednesday by TAP news agency on the occasion of the Sports Press Day, called on the national and civil authorities to improve the situation of para-athletes, to meet their basic physical, technical, psychological and social needs, and to increase their participation in local and foreign sport events.
The conference, attended by representatives of the Tunisian National Paralympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Social Affairs and media professionals, shed light on the reality of elite para-athletes and the need to help them take up their challenges by providing them with financial and logistical support and offering them opportunities to improve their performance.
Participants also underlined the need to communicate effectively with athletes with disabilities in order to define their preferences and better adapt them to their potential, which requires the development of special sports rehabilitation programmes.
They further pointed out the need to provide health and psychological support for elite athletes, and to raise awareness of this issue and provide them with the best possible conditions for success.
The necessity to upgrade the sports infrastructure for elite para-athletes was also emphasised by the participants, who called for the setting up of more well-equipped facilities more suited to their needs, in order to provide them with scientific and well-thought-out working conditions.
They also stressed the importance of thinking about the post-retirement situation of athletes and supporting them throughout their sporting careers so as to guarantee them the means for a decent life.
Besides, speakers talked about the importance of developing and diversifying specialised sports activities that meet the needs of athletes with disabilities, even if certain specialities require considerable financial resources, such as chair basketball.
In this connection, a call was made to associations, government structures and the private sector to offer financial support to elite para-sports and appropriate sports equipment and facilities.
A marketing specialist pointed out the need to pay more attention to the image of para-sports, to establish a social climate adapted to their specific needs and to step up efforts to educate and raise awareness of disability issues in order to help athletes with disabilities take part in social life and sporting activities.
