Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian para-athletes face an additional hurdle in their quest to compete internationally due to limited access to internationally recognised classification services, the Tanzania Paralympic Committee (TPC) has said.
TPC president Tuma Provian Dandi said the shortage of certified professionals able to conduct international classification in Tanzania forces some athletes to travel abroad before they can compete in major international events.
Dandi made the remarks while presenting a paper at the International Conference on Science, Medicine, and Classification in Paralympic Sport held in Moscow, Russia, on September 4 and 5.
The conference brought together delegates and experts from 52 countries, including 15 African nations, to discuss the classification of athletes with disabilities and the medical, technical, and systemic challenges associated with the process.
Dandi, who attended the conference with TPC secretary-general Ramadhan Namkoveka, said athletes who travel abroad for classification often have to be accompanied by coaches and support staff, increasing the cost of preparation.
The situation becomes more difficult when an athlete is assessed and found not to meet the criteria for the intended sport class and is declared Not Eligible (NE), he said.
“An athlete may incur costs for travel, accommodation, medical assessments, and other preparations, only to be declared not eligible and denied the opportunity to compete in the expected class,” Dandi said.
He said the availability of medical tests and documentation required during classification was another challenge, adding to the financial and logistical burden facing athletes preparing for international competitions.
According to Dandi, the classification challenges can also affect Tanzania's conventional pathway to international competitions, with some athletes having to rely on special invitation opportunities, including Wildcards and Bipartite Slots.
In his presentation, Dandi outlined Tanzania's participation in the Paralympic Games between 2004 and 2024, including wheelchair racer Hilmy Shawwal's appearance in the T54 class at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
He said Tanzania also faced shortages of specialised equipment for Paralympic sports, while social and economic barriers continued to affect the participation and development of female athletes with disabilities.
Kigamboni centre
Dandi said the proposed Tanzania Para Sport Center in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, could help address some of the challenges by bringing training, athlete development and classification services closer to athletes.
He said the Government had set aside 42,800 square metres, equivalent to about 10.5 hectares, for the development of the centre and related Paralympic sports activities.
The TPC expects the facility to provide training, athlete development and classification services and eventually serve athletes from other countries in East, Central and Southern Africa.
Dandi said the centre could reduce Tanzania's reliance on classification services abroad, lower travel costs and improve access to qualified specialists in the country and across the region.
“International classification should not be an opportunity that is more easily available to those with greater financial means or those living in areas where such services are readily available,” he said.
“Through our Kigamboni centre and international partnerships, we believe we can build a system that expands equal opportunities for athletes with disabilities in Tanzania and across Africa.”
The TPC said Tanzania's participation in the Moscow conference was facilitated by the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), which covered the delegation's participation costs.
The committee also thanked the Russian Government, through the RPC, and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania for facilitating the official invitation and visa arrangements for the Tanzanian delegation.
