ABOUT 300 people participated in the 2014 Fiji Deaf Games which ended yesterday at the Pacific Theological College ground in Nasese.
The two-day event had members of the Fiji Association of the Deaf under the umbrella arm of the Deaf Sports Association of Fiji participating.
The theme for this year’s games was “Breaking down the barriers to allow full participation for the Deaf”.
“The Deaf Sports Association of Fiji caters for the development of sports of the deaf community to participate at rural, local, regional and international events,” event official Isoa Nabainivalu said via email.
The association used the games to boost the confidence and empower their representatives towards the preparation of the Deaflympic Games in Turkey in 2017.
The tournament was officially opened by Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports Iliesa Delana, who assured government’s support towards the development of sports.
“The Games or tournament is aimed at creating and opening up more opportunities for our deaf and disable athletes alike,” Delana said.
“Therefore we need a much stronger sense of common purpose among all of us stakeholders involved in sports for disabled people.
“We need to find a way of bringing the system together to be cohesive and open up key areas like funding and investment and attract development offers from those who are experts locally and abroad.”
