Following a successful staging of the World Para Powerlifting Invitational Competition which recently concluded in Lagos, the competition and development manager of World Para Powerlifting (WPPO) Sam Munkley believes Nigeria has demonstrated that it has the capacity to host much bigger Para powerlifting competitions.
Mr Munkley who was in Lagos as part of the World Para Powerlifting team that oversaw the first ever international Para competition of any kind to be held in Nigeria told busybuddiesng.com that the competition which held from 28 – 30 January exceeded his expectations and portends a bright future for international Para powerlifting competitions in Nigeria.
“I’m over the moon, it’s exceeded my expectations,” Mr Munkley said regarding his impression of Nigeria’s hosting abilities.
“The outcome of the event has been a very high quality; it’s met all the technical requirement [and] specifications so the future is bright for Para Powerlifting competitions in Nigeria.”
Although impressed with the outcome of the event, Mr Munkley pointed out that certain aspects could have been better organised and said such areas have been pointed out to the Nigeria Para Powerlifting Federation to use as a “learning tour” and improve upon for future international competitions.
He also said that the invitational competition – which is the lowest cadre international competition in the WPPO calendar – was essentially a trial run to test Nigeria’s capacity for staging international Para Powerlifting events.
Having proven to be capable hosts, Mr Munkley said he would meet with representatives of Nigeria’s sports ministry and the Para Powerlifting Federation to explore future hosting opportunities for much bigger international competitions such as the regional championships or world cups.
“This was a competition to see how Nigeria would host a competition so it’s as much a learning experience as anything,” he told busybuddiesng.com.
“This event was by no means perfect; there were challenges along the way and it was used as part of a learning tour [but] I’ve met with the organisers and highlighted these areas that need to be improved on should they want to move forward to host something bigger.
“I would be meeting with the hosts and speaking about what future hosting opportunities are out there and what they want to strive towards but I have no doubt that they can [host much bigger competitions],” he added.
