Christopher Samuda, President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and Jamaica Paralympic Association, has been elected as one of three vice presidents of the Americas Paralympic Committee (AmPC).
Samuda was elected at the General Assembly of the Americas Paralympic Committee (AmPC), the governing body for national paralympic committees in 34 countries of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, which concluded recently in Santiago, Chile.
The JOA/JPA president will serve as Vice President of the sub-region consisting of the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
Samuda, who is a sitting director of the AmPC, defeated Marc-Andre Fabien, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and in so doing became the first vice president of that region and now occupies one of three vice president positions which were created when members amended the apex body’s statutes in 2023.
Colombian, Julio Cesar Avila Sarria was re-elected President, defeating Daniel Facal, president of the Uruguay Paralympic Committee.
Samuda described his election as “far from being a personal victory but a commitment to the athletes of the Caribbean and Americas whom we serve and whose interest and welfare are paramount in the regional sporting construct”.
The Americas Paralympic Committee now owns the Para Pan American Senior and Youth Games, which previously came under the aegis of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) from which the AmPC gained operational independence in 2023.
“Ownership of the Games vests in us and we are custodians of the aspirations of thousands of sportsmen and women and youth which my executive board colleagues and I recognise is a privilege that comes with a fiduciary obligation to create value and deliver results for them – the human capital of sport,” Samuda stated.
President Samuda will serve for a term of four years during which time he will have oversight responsibility for the affairs of the sub-region.
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