Dubai, February 14, 2016 – The Seventh Fazza IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Powerlifting World Cup Dubai 2016 got underway at the Dubai Club for the Disabled on Monday morning with international competitors from around the globe looking to qualify for the Rio Paralympics.
This event is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and organized and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled, with the support of their strategic partners the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC) and in cooperation with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), the DSC and the UAE Paralympic Committee.
The opening ceremony of this tournament took place at the Dubai World Trade Centre today, when the flagbearers and para-powerlifters were treated to a spectacular show of UAE heritage and history using the very latest technology, which was merely befitting of a competition of this stature.
It is – after all – one of the largest tournaments for disabled athletes anywhere in the world in terms of the sheer number of participating competitors and nations, with 210 athletes from 42 countries taking part in this seventh edition here.
That international representation is an increase of 17 nations from last year’s event, which is perhaps hardly surprising given that this is the penultimate chance para-powerlifters have of qualifying for the Rio Paralympics later this year.
Meanwhile, a three-day programme of lectures, seminars, training courses and workshops in cooperation with the IPC concluded on Sunday evening, where John Amos, Chairman of the Para-Powerlifting Committee at the IPC, gave a training course for referees with the express aim of raising the level of officiating here up to the very highest, IPC-accredited standards. There was also a refresher course for para-powerlifting coaches.
Elsewhere, the organizing committee held a coordination meeting with the tournament volunteers – more than 75 young men and women who will be present throughout the competition to assist in the smooth management of the event by undertaking various tasks across all disciplines.
The impressive list of participating nations at the Seventh Fazza IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Powerlifting World Cup Dubai 2016 is as follows: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Ghana, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, the Philippines, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and the UAE.