THE MALAYSIA OPEN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS KUALA LUMPUR

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Jan (Bernama) -- The MALAYSIA OPEN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

KUALA LUMPUR, will be held on 5 - 9 February 2012 at Stadium Titiwangsa, Kuala

Lumpur.

There will be 110 athletes and officials from 16 countries all over the world

will participate and compete in the Men’s and Women’s categories. This

competition is opened to athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal-cord injuries,

amputees and les autres who meet the minimal disability criteria.

Male powerlifters compete in ten different categories according to body weight

(48kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 67.50kg, 75kg, 82.50kg, 90kg, 100kg and over100kg) and

for Female (44kg, 48kg, 56kg, 60kg, 67.50kg,75kg, 82.kg and over 82.5kg). The

sport is currently being practiced in over 112 countries worldwide.

This championships organized by Powerlifting Association for Disabled Malaysia

with the collaboration Malaysian Paralympic Council with the support of the

Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia, Ministry of Women Family and Community

Development, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, Ministry of Health Malaysia,

Malaysian Defence Forces, The Royal Malaysian Police Force, Kuala Lumpur City

Hall, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Malaysia and the Immigration

Department Malaysia.

HISTORY

The benchpress competition widely known as "weightlifting" was one of the

original Paralympic sports dating back to the 2nd Paralympic Games in 1964 and

was offered exclusively to Spinal Cord Injured lifters. This was later amended

to include other disability groups.

At the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, 25 countries participated in

Powerlifting competitions. That number more than doubled in 1996 at the Atlanta

Paralympic Games with 58 countries (68 had been registered but 10 countries

could not participate due to lack of finance). Since 1996 the number increased

to 109 countries on five continents.

Powerlifting is the world''s fastest growing Paralympic sports. Today, the

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Powerlifting Committee which governs

the sport since 1989 encompasses a multi-disability register of athletes

competing in 10 weight-classes for both men and women.

A world ranking system has been developed that measures the evolution of the

sport and keeps athletes and coaches informed of world/continental record

performances and competition results from the Paralympic Games, World, Regional

and Continental competitions. Women had competed in Powerlifting competitions

for the first time at the 2000 Paralympic Games in

Sydney, Australia.

Malaysia Open Powerlifting Championships will be one of the second last

competition which sanctioned by IPC and ranking (qualifying) to athlete for

Paralympic London 2012.

PROGRAMME:

Date Activities

3 February 2012 - Arrival of Athletes And Officials

(Friday) - Athletes Classification

- Training

4 February 2012 - Team Manager’s Meeting

(Saturday) - Technical Meeting

- Athletes Classification / Training

5 February 2012 - Opening Ceremony

(Sunday) - Competition Starts / Training

6 February 2012 (Monday) - Competition Day / Training

7 February 2012 (Tuesday) - Competition Day

8 February 2012 (Wednesday) - Competition Day

9 February 2012 ( Thursday) - Closing Ceremony

10 February 2012 ( Friday) - Departure Of All Contingents

COMPETITION VENUE

The competition venue will be Stadium Titiwangsa Kuala Lumpur. Seating capacity

of 1000 spectators. This venue has been used for paralympic sport since 2006.

This venue belongs of Kuala Lumpur City Hall and it is wheelchair accessibility.

At the lake nearby, recreational facilities such as kayak, row boat,

horse-riding

and children’s playground.

CEREMONIES

The Opening Ceremony will be held on 5 February 2012 (Sunday), 3.00 pm at

the Stadium Titiwangsa Kuala Lumpur (Venue) and The Closing Ceremony

will be held on 9 February 2012, 8.00pm at the Grand Season Hotel Kuala

Lumpur.

Opening Ceremony

Date : 5 February 2012 (Sunday)

Time : 2.00 pm

Venue : Titiwangsa Stadium, Kuala Lumpur

Time : Programme

1.30 pm : Arrival of Contingents

1.45 pm : Arrival of Guest

2.00 pm : Arrival of VVIP

: Welcome Speech by:

President Powerlifting Para Malaysia Association

Lt. Cdr. (R ) Kamaruzaman Kadir

: Speech by President

Paralympic Council of Malaysia

Hon’ble Dato’ Zainal Abu Zarin

: Official Opening Declaration by

Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia

Hon’ble Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek

: Introduction to Contingents

3.00 pm : Competition Starts

Closing Ceremony

Date : 9 February 2012 (Thursday)

Time : 8.00 pm

Venue : The Grand Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Time : Programme

7.30 pm : Arrival of Contingents

7.45 pm : Arrival of Guests

8.00 pm : Arrival of VVIP

: Speech by President

Powerlifting Para Malaysia Association

Lt. Cdr. (R ) Kamaruzaman Kadir

: Declaration Speech and Closing Ceremony by

Mayor of Kuala Lumpur

Hon’ble Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad bin Ismail

: Performance

: Dinner

ACCOMMODATION

The Grand Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be the official hotel for this

championships.

DOPING CONTROL

Doping Control will be conducted under the strict provisions of the WADA and the

IPC Anti Doping Code.

CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

This is an event sanctioned by IPC where by all results to be rank as a

qualification for London 2012.

SOURCE: POWERLIFTING PARA MALAYSIA ASSOCIATION

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

SECRETARIAT - Malaysia Open Powerlifting Championships

TEL : 603-90588008 / 603-90591649

FAX : 603-90563054

EMAIL : maspowerliftingpara@yahoo.com

LT. CDR ® KAMARUZAMAN KADIR - 013-3421730

MR. MOHD ANAS HANAFI - 016-3943856

MS. NORSYAHIEDA MAT SHAH - 019-6492576

-- BERNAMA