Umi Hope Foundation Holds Sports Camp to Nurture Paralympic Dreams for Children and Youth with Disabilities

"Helping Them Become the Protagonists of Their Lives Through Sports"

On August 6, the Umi Hope Foundation announced that, together with the Korea Paralympic Committee, it operated the '2025 Basic Sports Summer Camp' for seven days from the 30th of last month to the 5th at the Icheon Training Center in Gyeonggi Province.

This event was organized to give children and youth with disabilities the opportunity to directly experience basic Paralympic sports and to nurture their potential to grow as athletes. Since 2023, the Umi Hope Foundation has held basic sports camps for children and youth with disabilities every year.

Participants are taking a group photo at the '2025 Basic Sports Summer Camp' held from the 30th of last month to the 5th at the Icheon Training Center, organized by the Umi Hope Foundation in collaboration with the Korean Paralympic Committee. Provided by Umi Hope Foundation

This year, the 34 participants experienced not only five basic sports?athletics, swimming, table tennis, badminton, and taekwondo?but also Paralympic events such as shooting, cycling, goalball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, rowing, and curling.

On-site activities included wheelchair slalom, laser shooting, and physical fitness tests. There were also sessions explaining admission to special physical education departments and a talk concert with national team athletes. Slalom is a competition where people with disabilities use wheelchairs to navigate various obstacles, competing in speed and maneuvering skills.

The top prize was awarded to Jo Yeonwoo (Chungbuk), and the excellence prize went to Kim Kyungseo (Gyeonggi), along with seven other winners, making a total of nine awardees. The winners received scholarships, and the top prize winner will also receive coaching and training in their desired sport.

Lee Choonseok, Secretary General of the Umi Hope Foundation, said, "I hope this was a time for promising children and youth with disabilities in sports to experience their own potential and imagine their future," adding, "We will continue to support and stand with them so they can become the protagonists of their own lives through sports."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.