With 10 reference centers, Darci Piana makes the State Parasports Network official

From now on, Paraná has a State Parasports Network, a joint initiative between the State Government, through the State Secretariat for Sport (SEES), the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) and the Federal University of Paraná ( UFPR) to encourage sports practice by people with disabilities. The network was officially launched this Monday (6) by acting governor Darci Piana during the opening of the 9th Meeting of Sports Managers of the State of Paraná, in Curitiba.

A pioneer in the country, the initiative foresees the implementation of 10 Paralympic Reference Centers in the State by the end of this year, seven of which are already in the implementation process. They will work in an integrated manner to offer a complete structure to athletes with disabilities, working from initiation to training for high performance in the various Paralympic modalities.

The units will be located in the cities of Maringá, which received the first reference center in Paraná, Curitiba, Ponta Grossa, Telêmaco Borba, Cornélio Procópio, Cascavel, Campo Mourão, Ivaiporã, Londrina and Foz do Iguaçu. Each one will offer different modalities, such as athletics, table tennis, parabadminton, football for the blind, goalball, wheelchair tennis, Paralympic boccia, parataekwondo and judo, among others.

“Encouraging sport has become one of the priorities of our management in the State Government, and this practice needs to be inclusive for all people from Paraná”, stated Piana. “Paraná has stood out in several areas, but there is no point in advancing the economy, for example, if our people are not served and have opportunities, which is what sport provides”.

The reference centers will also offer professional training and the development of research projects in the area of ​​Paralympic sport, seeking to increasingly optimize athletes’ performance in the search for better results in competitions. The idea is also to provide methodological learning innovations, focused on maintaining health and improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.

“It’s a project that will change the nature of parasports in the State. Often, athletes with disabilities have access to sport later, and what we want is to encourage practice from an early age”, explained Mario Sérgio Fontes, technical coordinator of the Department of Parasports at the Secretariat of Sport.

To this end, in addition to the initiation of new athletes that will be offered at the centers, the ministry also plans to include parasports education in the school curriculum. “The idea is to make sport a tool for transformation for children with disabilities. We are going to train new athletes from the ground up, so that students with disabilities can reach school games, youth games, the school Paralympics and, possibly, even high performance”, highlighted Fontes.

PARTNERSHIP – The CPB, as the managing entity of Paralympic sports in the country, will have the role of conducting and guiding events and activities in these spaces, while UFPR will provide conditions for the operation of the center in Curitiba. The university also provided a research team focused on the practice of parasports.

The State Secretariat for Sport, together with its affiliate, Paraná Esporte, will coordinate with the municipalities and act to support CPB’s actions. They will be led by the Parasports Sector, with sporting events, and the Sports School to train professionals in the area. The department will also provide sports equipment and kits to athletes.

STATE MEETING – The 9th edition of the Sports Managers Meeting continues until Wednesday (8) and brings together, in Curitiba, mayors, municipal secretaries, federation directors and the team from the State Secretariat for Sports. The objective is to promote permanent training of municipal managers with regard to public policies for the area.

The initiative is part of the state program Esporte que Quero, which subsidizes and encourages cities in Paraná to develop management and governance instruments to encourage sporting practices. This includes the implementation of the Sports policy, council and municipal fund. It enables, for example, the transfer and transfer of resources between members of Paraná’s sports systems, to universalize sports throughout the State.

In this edition, the Decennial Sports Plan for Paraná 2026-2036 will also be discussed, which plans and organizes state public policies for the area for the next 10 years. “Paraná sport is currently competing for national hegemony, which is a great source of pride for us, the result of constant work on training and training our managers”, highlighted the state secretary of Sport, Helio Wirbiski.

The coordinator of the Esporte que Quero program, Josilene Anjos, explained that managers will have the opportunity, during the event, to share their experiences in implementing the program in their municipalities. “We are in the process of implementing governance instruments in municipalities, but we want to encourage more cities to join. With the Sports policy, council and fund, managers are prepared in terms of planning and management to develop the sport,” she said.

EXAMPLE – This work even serves as an example for other Brazilian states. Two delegations, from Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia, are participating in the Paraná meeting to take similar initiatives to their states. “Paraná is a reference in sports management, and we came here to learn more about the programs and copy good practices that can be useful for our state”, explained Leandro Fonseca, director of Excellence and Sports Training at Fundesporte do Mato Grosso do South.

ATTENDANCE – Also participating in the ceremony were the CEOs of Paraná Esporte, Walmir da Silva Matos, and Viaje Paraná, Irapuan Cortes; the dean of UniBrasil, Camile Luciane da Silva; the vice-rector of Planning, Budget and Finance at UFPR, Fernando Marinho Mezzadri; among other authorities.