Malawi Paralympic president James Chiutsi nominated for international prestigiousPARA SPORT Awards
Described as a powerhouse of Para sport on the African continent since being appointed president of Malawi Paralympic Committee (MPC) in 2018, James Chiutsi has been nominated for the prestigious Citi Volunteer Award 2023 of the PARA SPORT Awards — organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Citi Volunteer Award 2023 recognises an individual who has given up their own time to support the growth of Para sport as a volunteer — either as a classifier, technical official, event support or the IPC member support.
In the citation by the International Paralympic Committee made available to the public, Chiutsi is one of three people shortlisted for the honour — headlined: ‘Masterminding Malawi’s Para Sport Growth’.
The notice further says the Citi Volunteer Award is the only honours that has a public vote, which runs online from September 1-15 through https://www.paralympic.org/
The citation says: “Under his leadership, the number of Para athletes in the country has grown from 20 in 2019 to around 300 in 2023, one of whom has secured the first-ever minimum qualification standard for the Paralympic Games for Paris 2024.
“That achievement is just one of a host of firsts for Malawi since James became MPC President. In 2022, the country hosted its first World Para Athletics-sanctioned event and its first IPC regional training event, with classification for vision impaired athletes.
“Malawi has also established five new Para Sport programmes for its athletes, including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and Para powerlifting.
“James has recognised the power of Para Sport to help change society, championing its inclusion in school sports curriculums and promoting the IPC’s own education programme, i’mPOSSIBLE.
“He has also spearheaded the drive for gender equality within the MPC, achieving 50/50 gender balance in its leadership team.”
The recognition continues that Chiutsi “has also overseen the strengthening of Para Sport governance and administration structures in Malawi, leading to greater encouragement of athletes and volunteers in the Paralympic Movement”.
“This includes sport techn
ical training, Para Sport training for journalists, and both athlete and coach development.”
According to the International Paralympic Committee, the 2023 PARA SPORT Awardswill be organised alongside its General Assembly on September 27, 2023 in Bahrain.
They will celebrate the terrific achievements of summer and winter sport athletes in one event, along with recognising the work of volunteers, coaches, and members of the IPC whose efforts have contributed to strengthening the impact of Para sports worldwide.
Ten categories will be awarded overall, seven of which will take place in Bahrain.
Chiutsi, who won the glamorous red carpet Malawi Sport Awards as the Sport Administrator of the Year twice, is no stranger to sports as an innovator — as he is one of the pioneers who established the Pool Association of Malawi as an affiliate of Malawi National Council of Sports.
The i’mPOSSIBLE being recognized in the nomination citation was launched in 2021, which is a special sports awareness campaign for school children with physical disabilities that teaches the values of sports that should be participated and enjoyed by everyone regardless of their physical status.
It is done in collaboration with International Paralympic Committee, the Sports Council and the Ministry of Education since the project is not just tailor-made for special needs schools but for all children to appreciate the values of Olympic sports of Courage, Determination, Inspiration and Equality.
In 2018, Chiutsi managed to entice International Paralympics Committee president, Andrew Parsons to make an impromptu visit to Malawi, who described the Malawi Paralympics Committee as the best in Africa in terms of programming and implementation of Paralympics activities.
Parsons had been on a visit in Botswana where he attended Women in Sports Conference and he decided on visiting Malawi to meet various sports and education officials following the good planning and implementation of Paralympics Sports Programmes in Malawi by the MPC.
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