New ordinance published on adapted sports - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação, Cultura e Desporto

The Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport, through the Regional Directorate for Sport, announced that an ordinance has recently been published approving the new regulations for the “Adapted Sport” project. It will strengthen the regulatory mechanisms and support for physical and sporting activities for people with disabilities in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

The revision now introduced also responds to the need to fill the gap in the framework applicable in situations where there are no athletes or teams from more than one island, ensuring the continuity and consistency of the regional competitive model — a commitment previously made by the Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport, through the Regional Directorate for Sport.

The new ordinance introduces adjustments to improve the implementation of the project, clarifying eligibility criteria, application procedures, and monitoring mechanisms for promoting entities, particularly concerning access to national competitions. The ordinance also reinforces the rules applicable to the organisation of regional tournaments, ensuring that they are conducted with technical rigour and in an appropriate setting, even when entities from a single island are participating.

With this update, the Regional Government reiterates its commitment to public policies of inclusion, ensuring that the "Adapted Sports Project" continues to be a key pillar of regional sports development and the promotion of equal opportunities.

The Ordinance and its regulations are available on the Regional Government Portal on the Regional Sports Directorate page.