2013-09-17Staff Report 2 WINDHOEK - Special Olympics Namibia (SON) recently appointed its first ever Athlete Advisory Committee, which will assist athletes with special needs while also tackling issues affecting them on a daily basis. The newly appointed committee will also be giving advice to the national director and the board of directors. SON is an international programme providing year-round sports training and athletics competition in a variety of Olympic sports. The six-member committee comprising of a chairperson, vice-chairperson and four members appointed Deon Namiseb, who is a Special Olympic global messenger, as a special advisor to the new committee. Meanwhile, the athletes serving on the committee are John de Vos (chairperson), Elvira Goagoses (vice-chairperson), Beletze Karugas (member), Tangee Kutaa (member), Eduan Tian Xoagub (member) and Maria Goses (member). SON after holding its athletes leadership training course on August 13-14 at their Football for Hope Centre in Katutura, elected the six-member committee that will be holding office for four years. The establishment of the committee comes after a resolution was passed at the Special Olympics International Global Congress in Morocco. The Olympic Movement through its Athlete Leadership Programmes (ALPs) empowers athletes to take up meaningful roles in the programme, as well as throughout the movement. In March this year, the first Africa Athlete Advisory Council was established and Namibia has a representative on that council. Special Olympics Namibia programmes run in five regions, namely the Oshana, Kavango, Hardap, Khomas and //Karas regions. The athletes also want to approach government for assistance with transportation for those members living in far-flung places. Current sport programmes on offer are soccer, basketball, softball, cricket, volleyball and athletics with computer, life skills, arts and crafts and drama classes also taking place. According to SON, they want to see the Special Olympics (SO) brand expand and become more visible and known. They are therefore calling upon companies to come on board financially to assist Special Olympics Namibia to contribute to a fund to assist athletes with special needs. By Staff Reporter 2013-09-17Staff Report 2
