The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) is strengthening the foundation of sports development for people with disabilities by graduating 72 new classifiers. The addition of these experts is projected to serve as a key pillar in ensuring equality and sportsmanship in every disability sports competition across the country.
Acting Assistant Deputy for Sports Performance Personnel and Organizations at Kemenpora, Leny Kurnia, emphasized that the role of classifiers is vital. Without a proper classification process, disability sports competitions lose the essence of fairness. These 72 new personnel passed rigorous certification after participating in intensive training in Karanganyar and Makassar, which involved 77 participants from 28 different provinces.
This strategic move was taken by Kemenpora to address the challenge of equal access in regional areas. Until now, the lack of classifiers at the provincial level has been an obstacle in scouting new talent. With experts now distributed across various regions, the government hopes that the identification and classification process for potential athletes with disabilities can occur earlier and more accurately.
Chief Classifier of NPC Indonesia, Retno Setianing, welcomed this addition as part of long-term preparations for the 2028 Paralympics. According to her, local classifiers can guide prospective athletes to understand the competition class matching their physical condition. This makes regional development more effective, as determining the sport class early minimizes discrepancies when athletes enter national and international competitions.
