26 July - 1 August 2001
Issue No.544
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 26 July - 1 August 2001 Issue No.544 |
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No lack of vision
This is one case of the blind leading the blind -- and doing a good job of it. Abeer Anwar explains
Enrique Sanz would like people to look at disabled athletes differently. "To be disabled is not to be unable, that's how I want society to view them."
Enrique Sanz, front row, fourth from left
For years, Sanz has been working to change things for the blind in sport, and as head of the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA), he is influential enough to make a difference. But perhaps it is through his own blindness that he can best get his message across.
Sanz, 64, started showing an interest in sports for the blind at 20, the age he lost his sight following a car accident. Unable to complete university, he joined the Spanish Blind Sports Federation and worked his way to the top.
The top is at the helm of IBSA which serves 106 countries. The IBSA divides the world into the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. A chairman is appointed for each continent.
IBSA promotes two kinds of sport: competitive sports, which are included in the Paralympics and which have 3,300 registered athletes, and recreation sports practised for leisure at schools and universities.
Competitive sports include swimming, judo, athletics, goalball, equestrian (dressage) and power lifting. Bowling, golf, diving and water-skiing come under recreation sports.
Recreation sports are widely popular but not enough to be included in the Paralympics. One exception in the Athens Paralympics in 2004 will be the inclusion of five-a- side football for the blind.
"The blind need physical activity in the same way that normal people need them," Sanz told the Weekly. "Sports is a way to achieve their goal and get recognised in society. The main thing is to integrate them in society through sports."
"We are trying to integrate normal people with the blind. We will choose the kind of sports that can be shared by both," he added.
On Africa, Sanz says the problem is one of financial restraints. "I think it is developing a lot in sports for the blind." He added that the main potential in Africa lies in its people. "They are enthusiastic, cheerful and eager to achieve something."
"Africa joined IBSA only 10 years ago but it is progressing quickly and so is Egypt," he said.
Egypt was chosen to host the IBSA executive committee because Africa has a huge number of disabled athletes. It is through committee meetings, Sanz says, that media coverage and public awareness increase about the disabled. "When a society is developing, people are developing as well because the blind are part of society."
Sanz has been in IBSA for 10 years -- two years as a general secretary and eight as its head. He believes that is enough. "That's why I decided not to run in the next elections."
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