Mariani (fourth right) and treasurer Lau Tine Lee (third left) receive the sponsorship from Lea Sports Centre senior operations manager Poh Siok Hoon and senior merchandising manager Alice Kho (third right) while the players and coaches look on at Sarawak Plaza Shopping Complex yesterday.
KUCHING: The Special Olympics Kuching Chapter will be sending six players and two coaches to the 10th Special Olympics Borneo Cup in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei from Nov 15 to 20.
They will be joined by eight more players and two coaches from Sibu and Miri.
The two Sarawak teams are among the 13 teams of special athletes from Brunei, Sabah and Kalimantan (Indonesia) who will vie for honours in the five-a-side football tournament.
"The Kuching team is selected from 15 teams from the inter-PDK (Pusat Dalam Kumuniti)," said Special Olympics Kuching Chapter president Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain after receiving the sponsorship of "Starsport" football jerseys for the team from Lea Sports Centre at Sarawak Plaza Shopping Complex yesterday.
According to Mariani, one of the five players in each team is a normal athlete.
"We always encourage the special children to be involved in sports and games so that their energy can be channeled to the right activities. Sports is the right therapy for them.
The Special Olympics Borneo Cup is hosted by Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak and Kalimantan on a rotational basis.