(ANSA) - Brazil is a major international power when it comes to Paralympic sport and a fair taking place in Sao Paulo June 13-16 will make it possible for the general public to get a feel of what taking part in a sport for the disabled entails.
Indeed, some of the fair participants will also be taking part in the sixth Parapan American Games, which start in Peru on August 23.
The Brazilian Sporting Association for the Disabled (ADD) will run series of activities to promote Paralympic sport that people with and without disabilities will be able to take part in during the International Fair of Technologies for Rehabilitation, Inclusion and Accessibility, Reatech, which is organized by Cipa Fiera Milano. ADD's goal is to raise awareness about these sports and make people realise how important physical activity is for health. "We want to show the people who visit the fair what the sporting possibilities are out there for people with disabilities," Sileno Santos, ADD's director of sport and coach of the Brazilian wheelchair basketball team, told ANSA in an interview.
"There are lots of sports that people can practise, to have a try and get a taste, while gaining awareness about the importance of physical activity". Santos said that Reatech's sporting arena will feature disciplines such as wheelchair volleyball and rugby and badminton for the disabled.
Some of the medal winners from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games will participate, such as the swimmer Daniel Dias, the sprinter Alan Fonteles and members of the Brazilian wheelchair basketball and Paralympic volleyball teams. Brazil is the country with the highest number of medals in the history of the Parapan American Games with 1,026, ahead of Mexico (922), Argentina (490), the United States (478) and Canada (376). Santos says that Paralympic sport "has improved significantly in recent years" in Brazil, while adding that the difficulties in gaining access to the sports is holding back the full development of the disciplines. Brazil came top of the medals table at the fifth Parapan American Games in Toronto in 2015 with 257 medals, including 109 golds, the country's best-ever performance in the history of the games. ADD will offer a service for small repairs, such as the replacement and tyres and fixing screws on wheelchairs, at Reatech.
The fair will take place at the Sao Paulo Expo and will feature dozens of technological innovations to help inclusion and accessibility.
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