Muscat: Jasour – News Desk
The sports festival for individuals with special needs in Muscat schools saw significant interaction and wide participation among students. The third edition of the festival succeeded in enhancing the integration of students with special needs with their healthy peers and in discovering talents and enhancing physical and sports capabilities.
The festival, organized by the School Sports Committee in Muscat Governorate in collaboration with the Fifth Education and Continuing Education Directorate of the General Directorate of Education in the governorate, saw the participation of 150 students from nine schools, including Qantab Basic Education School, Ghala Basic Education School, Al-Khuwair School, Zainab Al-Thaqafiya, Al-Nahda Basic Education School, Bahjat Al-Anwar School, Dhiyā’ Al-Mustaqbal Private School, and Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib School, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bousher.
The festival included various activities and events, ranging from sports activities to educational games focused on muscle and nerve coordination, quick movements, ball handling, and passing through different obstacles. The festival achieved several planned objectives, including enhancing observation skills, agility, speed, flexibility, and significant interaction between healthy students and students with special needs, contributing to promoting values of equality and respect, inclusive education, breaking psychological and social barriers, and fostering team spirit.
The closing ceremony of the festival was held under the patronage of Lady Naela bint Hamad Al-Busaidiya, Chairwoman of the Omani Committee for Deaf Sports, with the attendance of several members of the School Sports Committee. The festival’s third edition is considered an extension of previous festivals, and at the end of the festival, the patron of the ceremony honored all participants.
After the ceremony, Maryam bint Saif Al-Husniya, Secretary of the Sports Committee in Muscat Governorate, emphasized the importance of the sports festival for individuals with special needs in enhancing the abilities of children with special needs. She stated, “We believe in the importance of sports in the lives of individuals with special needs to reveal their physical and sports capabilities, making sports a fundamental aspect of their lives, contributing to building their personalities, and acquiring confidence, leadership skills, and belief in their various abilities.”
She added, “The festival provided an enabling environment for integrating students with special needs with their healthy peers, which is a primary goal the sports festival for individuals with special needs aimed to achieve through active participation in the festival’s events.
The festival indeed discovered several talents among various special needs, thanks to the great enthusiasm witnessed in various competitions and sports games, where everyone made significant efforts for excellence and discovering their different abilities. The committee continues its efforts to support and encourage children with special needs to enhance their sports capabilities and create a competitive start for them.”
