Parallel to the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, the 2011 ASEAN Para Games will be held from 12th to 20th December 2011 in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, Indonesia. Solo’s Manahan Stadium will be the main Games venue.
The APG serves as an opportunity to prepare athletes for the Paralympic Games in London in 2012. Patterned after the Paralympic Games, the ASEAN Para Games is a biannual regional multisport event held 2 weeks after the end of every Southeast Asian Games. Athletes with mobility and visual disabilities, amputees or those with cerebral palsy from ASEAN member nations – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam – compete in these Games.
Traditionally, the ASEAN ParaGames are hosted by the same country and sports venues where the Southeast Asian Games takes place. Lack of accessible facilities or inexperience in catering to the needs for disabled sport has recently triggered hosting city substitutions like Nakhon Ratchasima rather than Bangkok in the 2008 ASEAN ParaGames, or a change of country–Malaysia rather than Laos for the 2009 ASEAN ParaGames. This trend continues with the substitution of Solo rather than Jakarta in this edition of the Para Games.
The 2011 ASEAN ParaGames will be hosted by Surakarta, Central Java. Also known by its informal name Solo, Surakarta is popular destination for tourists traveling from nearby Yogyakarta enroute Bali. The main tourist attraction of Surakarta is Keraton Surakarta, the palace of Susuhunan Pakubuwono, also the Princely Javanese court of Mangkunegaran. Pasar Gede is often visited by tourists, mostly for its unique architecture and fame as the biggest traditional market.
Solo is also famous for producing fine quality Javanese batik. Surakarta is located 60 kilometres from Yogyakarta and shares many tourism spots with it. Candi Borobudur, Candi Prambanan, Candi Ratu Boko, Candi Kalasan, and many other Candi or ancient temples are historical tourist sights. Surakarta is located much closer to Candi Cetho and Candi Sukuh on the slopes of Mount Lawu.
Mascot
The official mascot of the ASEAN Para Games 2011 are Modo and Modi, a pair of Komodo dragons.
This mascot was adopted from a real animal endemic to Indonesia. Komodo dragons are found in the Komodo National Park. The dragon was selected as the mascot of the ASEAN Para Games 2011, Indonesia to promote the Komodo National Park as a candidate for the New 7 Wonders of Nature online contest. Modo is a male Komodo dragon dressed in a dark brown surjan comodo, traditional clothing of Central Java, with dark brown pants and a batik blangkon headcloth (a typical Javanese male headcover). Meanwhile female dragon Modi wears a fashionable bun konde or wig headdress to accent her batik kebaya. "Modo" is short of Komodo, while "Modo-Modi" is similar to the Indonesian word Muda-Mudi or "youth" which refers to the youth of Indonesia. Modo and Modi are hardworking, honest, fair, friendly and represent sportsmanship. Modo and Modi reflect the positive personality of Indonesia, preserve the harmony of cooperation and promote friendship among participating countries in the ASEAN Para Games.
The Singapore Contingent will be participating in 5 sports, namely, Athletics, Badminton, Swimming, Table Tennis & Ten Pin Bowling. There will be a contingent of 36 athletes, and Team Singapore‘s Chef de Mission (CDM), will be Mr. Ee Tiang Hwee, the Singapore National Paralympic Council’s Treasurer.
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