The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) of the Republic of Indonesia, together with the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Indonesia, has successfully completed a national certification program for physical disability sports classification personnel. A total of 72 individuals from various provinces passed after undergoing intensive training in two regions: Central Java and South Sulawesi.
This training was divided into two strategic stages. The first stage took place in Solo City last May, involving 45 participants, while the second stage was held in Makassar City for 32 participants from eastern Indonesia. The presence of these new classification personnel marks a crucial step for the government in expanding access to inclusive sports development across remote areas.
Acting Assistant Deputy for High-Performance Sports Personnel and Organizations at Kemenpora, Leny Kurnia, emphasized that the equitable distribution of experts is a primary prerequisite for scouting disabled athletic talent more broadly. Until now, the lack of classification personnel at the regional level has been an obstacle in early athlete potential identification, even though classification is the fundamental foundation to ensure fairness in every competition.
Chief Classifier of NPC Indonesia, Dr. dr. Retno Setianing, Sp.KFR (K), added that the classification process is critical in determining an athlete's career path. Through experts spread across provinces, prospective athletes can now be directed more accurately according to their physical condition and appropriate sports discipline category. This step also serves as Indonesia's serious preparation in boosting athlete quality towards achievement targets at the 2028 Paralympics.
Echoing these sentiments, dr. Made Dwi Puja Setiawan, a participant from Bali, welcomed the initiative. According to him, the distribution of classifiers will break regional athletes' reliance on traveling to major cities just for classification assessments. He hopes this training program will continue, addressing deeper sports-specific details and knowledge updates according to international standards.
