The exotic car rally, paralympics for children and adults held on the fifth day of the Coimbatore Vizha gained immense response from the public and the participants, as the event laid the platform for them to showcase their talents, especially changing the perception on people with physical disparities.
Coimbatore: An Exotic Car Rally, and paralympics was held on the day five of Coimbatore Vizha.
The 5th day of Coimbatore Vizha started with Exotic Car Rally presented by Rotary Coimbatore City at The Cosmopolitan Club, Race Course.
Over 50 cars including Old Classic and Modern Exotics were displayed at the Cosmopolitan Club car park, flagged by District Collector Dr.Sameeran and Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Senthil Kumar. The rally passed through the iconic locations of Coimbatore and pulled the brakes at Tamil Nadu Agriculture University for a photoshoot in front of the historic TNAU building. The event is being organized by Rtn Dr. Senthil Kumar, President, Rtn T. Kanagaraj, Project Chairman and Rtn Kaneshan, Secretary of Rotary Coimbatore City.
However, the biggest highlight of this edition of the Coimbatore festival was the first ever Paralympics as part of this annual event. The paralympics began at 9:30am at Hindustan College of Arts and Science.
The Collector, Dr Sameeran inaugurated and congratulated the participants. Saraswathi, Managing Trustee, Hindustan Institutions, Dr Piyush Patwa (secretary Rotary Coimbatore Central), Irfan (President Rotary Texcity) and Yi Members were present at the event.
The Vizha’s theme goes “for the people and by the people”, and this year Special Olympics and Paralympics gelled well with the theme.
More than 100 children aged between 5 and 18 with various physical and intellectual impairments participated, who are studying in schools in and around Coimbatore.
Over 50 adult para athletes participated in various games like Discus, Javelin throw, shot put, wheelchair running etc.
And 4 teams of men and women participated in a sitting volleyball competition.
The event organizers mentioned that this paralympics, being the first attempt this year, they decided to restrict to a limited number of participants where they can provide the best possible experience for the para-athletes. The opening will be widened in the next year's edition and they added that they aim to raise awareness of persons with physical, hearing, visual and intellectual disabilities.
"Awareness is very important to create an inclusive society. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the people of Coimbatore to witness the para athletes display great determination and courage to overcome their obstacles, be it a physical or mental disability. They are truly inspirational because they prove that very few things in life are impossible, and even those can be overcome with true grit and perseverance. Our main goal is to provide them a platform to display their talents and also to change the general public’s perception of people with disabilities and to have a more inclusive and accessible society for all."
Coimbatore District Collector Dr.Sameeran, Coimbatore Vizha Organizing members Kumaravelu, Ashwin, Manohar Jaya Prasanth and Hindustan College staffs were present at the event.
Schools participated include Nithilyam Special School and Adelalde Rehabilitation centre, Kaumaram Prasanthi Academy, Star special school, Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, "Infant Jesus Convent School, Hearing impaired, played bands and a March past.
The 5th day of Coimbatore Vizha started with Exotic Car Rally presented by Rotary Coimbatore City at The Cosmopolitan Club, Race Course.
Over 50 cars including Old Classic and Modern Exotics were displayed at the Cosmopolitan Club car park, flagged by District Collector Dr.Sameeran and Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Senthil Kumar. The rally passed through the iconic locations of Coimbatore and pulled the brakes at Tamil Nadu Agriculture University for a photoshoot in front of the historic TNAU building. The event is being organized by Rtn Dr. Senthil Kumar, President, Rtn T. Kanagaraj, Project Chairman and Rtn Kaneshan, Secretary of Rotary Coimbatore City.
However, the biggest highlight of this edition of the Coimbatore festival was the first ever Paralympics as part of this annual event. The paralympics began at 9:30am at Hindustan College of Arts and Science.
The Collector, Dr Sameeran inaugurated and congratulated the participants. Saraswathi, Managing Trustee, Hindustan Institutions, Dr Piyush Patwa (secretary Rotary Coimbatore Central), Irfan (President Rotary Texcity) and Yi Members were present at the event.
The Vizha’s theme goes “for the people and by the people”, and this year Special Olympics and Paralympics gelled well with the theme.
More than 100 children aged between 5 and 18 with various physical and intellectual impairments participated, who are studying in schools in and around Coimbatore.
Over 50 adult para athletes participated in various games like Discus, Javelin throw, shot put, wheelchair running etc.
And 4 teams of men and women participated in a sitting volleyball competition.
The event organizers mentioned that this paralympics, being the first attempt this year, they decided to restrict to a limited number of participants where they can provide the best possible experience for the para-athletes. The opening will be widened in the next year's edition and they added that they aim to raise awareness of persons with physical, hearing, visual and intellectual disabilities.
"Awareness is very important to create an inclusive society. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the people of Coimbatore to witness the para athletes display great determination and courage to overcome their obstacles, be it a physical or mental disability. They are truly inspirational because they prove that very few things in life are impossible, and even those can be overcome with true grit and perseverance. Our main goal is to provide them a platform to display their talents and also to change the general public’s perception of people with disabilities and to have a more inclusive and accessible society for all."
Coimbatore District Collector Dr.Sameeran, Coimbatore Vizha Organizing members Kumaravelu, Ashwin, Manohar Jaya Prasanth and Hindustan College staffs were present at the event.
Schools participated include Nithilyam Special School and Adelalde Rehabilitation centre, Kaumaram Prasanthi Academy, Star special school, Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, "Infant Jesus Convent School, Hearing impaired, played bands and a March past.