KUCHING: Twenty four participants comprising the disabled people will participate in the 3rd Malaysia Lions International Chess Championship for the disabled for Sarawak on January 29.
Lions Clubs International District 308-A2 district governor Kapitan Connie Loh Ming Hua said at a press conference at the Lions Nursing home here yesterday that the participants comprised mainly ‘specially gifted persons’ of the blind, deaf and physically challenged communities.
“They are from Kuching, Serian, Lundu and Sibu.
“The passion of loving the English chess in this special group of people has given Lions the strength to continue serving them and providing them a platform to show that they are, indeed, able to develop positive mental attitude, confidence, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other participants and the community,” she said.
Loh added that the primary objective of the event is to generate some degree of public awareness that this group of people who possess positive characters with a strong spirit of sportsmanship and competitiveness, are self-disciplined and confident.
“This Third Malaysia Lions International Chess Championship for the Disabled will be carried out at six different regions with the grand finale to be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 19.
“The regions are northern, central, east coast, southern, Sarawak and Sabah,” she said, adding that each region will hold its own competition with the top 10 winners taking part in the grand finale,” she added.