Hong Kong’s disabled athletes "should receive the same level of training and financial support as their able-bodied counterparts under a new full-time training scheme," a consultancy study recommended. Currently, disabled athletes are part-timers and "often face difficulties such as obtaining leave from their employers to prepare for and participate in major competitions." They also receive "much less support than their elite-athlete counterparts." A leading athlete such as cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze can receive a maximum elite training grant of HK$36,000 ($4,600) per month but a top disabled athlete only receives a subsidy of just HK$6,000 ($774) through the Sports Aid Grant for Athletes with Disabilities (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 11/2).
An "immediate request" has been made by the Int'l Swimming Federation (FINA) to the Brazilian Aquatic Sports Confederation (CBDA) for information "about the removal of the body's President Coaracy Nunes as part of a corruption investigation." A decision "will not be made over whether or not Nunes will be suspended or removed from his secondary position" as a member of FINA's ruling Bureau until it has received a response. It will also await the completion of Brazilian justice procedures. Nunes was removed as president of the national federation late last month as part of an investigation into corruption and fraud (INSIDE THE GAMES, 11/2).
