The organisations are to deliver an education framework over the next two years, which is aimed at developing Paralympic coaching and Para-sport technical capabilities.

Courses will be conducted in coaching, technical officiating and classification in IPC Sports, as well as raising awareness for the Paralympic Movement and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) management programmes.

“The 8th ASEAN Para Games and Team Singapore’s recent successes at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have significantly increased public awareness of Paralympic sport and moreover have led to heightened interest in sporting activities for all persons in Singapore,” said Troy Engle, director of coach development of the Singapore Sports Institute.

“We have seen a significant increase in demand among our coaches and sports professionals for information and development opportunities to support those working with persons with disabilities.

“We are very happy that this partnership with the IPC to develop Para-sport, in both Singapore and the region, has come at the right time for us to support and develop our coaches and will provide increased opportunity for interested people to learn and be a part of our Para sport expansion.”

The partnership was launched with an educator training programme, which saw five Singaporean coaches learn from World Academy of Sport trainers in how to pass on their knowledge to fellow Para-sport officials.

After the four-day programme drew to a close, the five coaches sought to test their knowledge by teaching 50 participants from Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia about coaching Para-sport during introductory courses.

An introduction to the Paralympic Movement, IPC classification, sport psychosocial aspects, anatomy, skill development and communication were among the topics covered.

Singapore are hopeful the partnership will continue to boost para-sport in the country, having earned three gold medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The IPC believe they will be able to help Sport Singapore, as well as learning from their expertise in the region.

“As the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement we are delighted to establish this partnership with Sport Singapore and share our expertise in sports technical, Paralympic awareness and NPC management education,” said Ryan Montgomery, IPC summer sports director.

“We are convinced that Sport Singapore will be a true leader in developing IPC Sports and NPCs in Asia, with a focus on the Southeast Asian region, and are looking forward to the many successful programmes to come.”