GAPS (Gather, Adjust, Prepare, Sustain) is Commonwealth Sport’s Para sport, development and inclusion pathway programme, designed to provide Para athletes and coaches with access to skills, knowledge, and resources that aid their personal development and training as they prepare for competition, while driving hope and motivation and building pride and a strong sense of identity amongst the participants.

GAPS was originally developed by Commonwealth Sport and Griffith University and has since been expanded in Africa, Asia, Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe, through partnerships with Stellenbosch University, University of Birmingham, and the University of the West Indies.

Hosted by the Mauritius Commonwealth Games Association and supported by Stellenbosch University and UK Sport, the camp takes place between 4-13 November. Para athletes from all six regions of the Commonwealth will come together in the sport of Para Athletics for an intense week of training, competition, and personal development.

WADA Africa will, for the first time, support the programme through the delivery of the anti-doping education session.

The camp will have a special focus on wheelchair racing to support the growth of the event across the Commonwealth. Fourteen athletes and coaches will come together to focus on this event, with the support of Canadian coach Geoff Harris and Mauritian coach Jean Maria Bhugeerathee. 

The camp will also be a chance for athletes to train alongside current world champion in the 100m T34 event, Noemi Alphonse, and star Para athlete Destiny Agbo from Nigeria, who won standing discus gold at the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games.

The Mauritius Global GAPS Camp will see 21 nations and territories coming together from Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, England, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Jersey, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Uganda and Zambia.

Commonwealth Sport President Chris Jenkins said, “I am excited to see the first GAPS wheelchair athletics camp taking place, especially here in Mauritius – the home of Para world champion Noemi Alphonse, who is a GAPS alumnus from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.’’ 

The success of GAPS was showcased this summer when 33 athletes from 20 different nations who have attended the GAPS Programme competed at the Paralympics. Four GAPS athletes won medals in Paris: Nigerian powerlifters Onyinyechi Mark, who won gold and broke the world record twice, and Esther Mworgu, who won silver with a Paralympic record, along with Nigeria’s Isau Ogunkunle (bronze, table tennis) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Akeem Steward (silver, men's discus).

“I was delighted to see so many athletes from the GAPS Programme competing in Paris, which brought home to me the value of investing in the development of coaches to build sustainable development pathways for Para athletes. I also congratulate all the coaches of Para athletes – they make a fantastic and often unsung contribution to Commonwealth Sport,” said Jenkins.

In addition to the GAPS athletes, there were 13 GAPS coaches in Paris.

“The performance of Commonwealth Para athletes in Paris strengthens our commitment to GAPS and to have a fully integrated Para sport programme in future Commonwealth Games to drive social change and inclusion across the entire Commonwealth Sport Movement,” said Jenkins.

The GAPS programme was initiated in 2016 aimed at preparing Pacific Island athletes for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Since the inaugural camp, GAPS has expanded to other Commonwealth regions allowing more than 600 athletes and coaches in total to benefit from the programme. 

“Our development programmes are designed to engage communities, transform lives, and unite the Commonwealth through sport. The GAPS Programme is a true reflection of our commitment to driving social change through the power of sport. We hope that the Para athletes and coaches who participate in the Global GAPS camp will feel empowered to achieve their full sporting potential, inspiring us all,” said Jenkins.

IMAGE: GAPS athletes from Commonwealth nations meeting up in Paris ahead of their participation at the 2024 Paralympics.