Official Magazine Of the Paralympic MOVeMENT iSSUe No. 1 | 2010 www.paralympic.org Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games 2010 President’s Message 55.000 spectators joined the ama- zing Opening Ceremony at BC Place in Vancouver. the Opening Ceremony included elaborate choreography during the ceremonial torch lighting President’s Message We all captured the Paralympic Spirit together from these Games and now can carry it around the world. With this, our athletes, coaches and officials will encourage new athletes, make new friends and inspire them to light the flame in their hearts. Dear readers, On behalf of the IPC, I would like welcome all of bration, and in the quiet thoughts of those in the you to the new edition of The Paralympian! It has audience, we were all connected to something taken on a completely new format and look. Inside special. this issue, we hope to give readers a more com- fortable magazine experience. With the inclusion We all captured the Paralympic Spirit together from of more expressive images, we aim to give every- these Games and now can carry it around the world. one that painted picture which is essential to the With this, our athletes, coaches and officials will en- Paralympic Movement. courage new athletes, make new friends and inspire them to light the flame in their hearts. Recently we have all come back from the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games where competi- I would like to acknowledge the fantastic work from tions were fierce and the athletes gave incredible everyone involved in these Winter Paralympics, es- performances! I hope you watched the events live pecially the Vancouver Organizing Committee and or on either ParalympicSport.TV or your local chan- their highly-trained volunteer staff! nel – the number of broadcast hours around the world allowed for this! In this new issue, we look back at the magnificence of the Games. We also include a special ‘History of Some of the most memorable moments were at the Classification’ information piece and additionally, UBC Thunderbird Arena, where Ice Sledge Hockey a special ‘All Winter Sports’ profile section which fans supported every game! When I was inside goes over our five sports at the Winter Paralympic during the tournament, the crowds created an Games: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Ski- atmosphere which was absolutely brilliant. And this ing, Ice Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Curling. was the same spirit in all sport venues! For me, it was the best ever Winter Games, and At the closing of the Vancouver Paralympics, the the future of Paralympic Winter Sport could not Whistler Village was illuminated not only by the look brighter! brilliant fireworks which coloured the sky, but also by the hearts of everyone who was part of the ex- Congratulations to all athletes and everyone else perience. In the sounds of cheering and cele- involved! sir Philip Craven, MBe iPC President content Welcome to the new and fully redesigned issue of “The Paralympian” – the official magazine of the Paralympic Movement. Enjoy! VancouVer 2010 06 06 All events and happenings of the big event in Canada, including the Opening and Closing Ceremony and medal tally Sport PrOfile 18 An overview of all five Paralympic Winter sports, including history and Vancouver results future gaMes 26 London 2012 chooses Channel 4 as official broadcaster for the next edition of the Summer Games MediCal & ScienCe 28 The history of Classification presents a background on one of the most important elements of Paralympic Sport. nPC PrOfile 30 Panama’s National Paralympic Committee looks at its potential in success at the next Paralympic Games www.paralympic.org ISSUE No.1 | 2010 Partners & PatrOns 34 Worldwide Partner Atos Origin provides top technology during the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games eduCatiOn & deVelopment 37 Adecco programme sees career potential in all athletes, Vancouver current and retired The largest metro- politan area in PSTV – What's neW 38 Western Canada, Vancouver ranks ParalympicSport.TV has a full programme of videos after third largest in Vancouver 2010 the country athlete PrOfile 40 Paralympian Ambassador Verene Bentele brings her motivation and inspiration to the top of Whistler’s Paralympic Park neWs in Sport 42 Tickets now available for the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven PiCking the Vault 43 Tel Aviv 1968: The Games will go on ParalympiC MoveMent 44 Learn about the beauty and design of the Paralympic medals in Vancouver 40 34 06 VancouVer Nearly 5,000 performers thrilled a sold-out stadium at the BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, to start the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games on 12 March 2010. With the theme “One Inspires Many”, the Opening Ceremony was a celebration of ability, courage and the human spirit. ParalympiC Winter gaMes 2010 07 08 VancouVer | Opening Ceremony Various dramatic and colourful elements were included in the Opening Ceremony which added to the already inspirational evening any distinguished guests atten- lights and a luminescent coloured gold card. he said. “This almost touchable sporting ener- ded the high-spirited celebration, The sold out crowd had the opportunity with gy source has found a unique home here on including Her Excellency the these elements to participate in the celebra- the west coast of Canada.” M Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, tion, creating a high-energy atmosphere that Governor General of Canada. Broadcasted became Vancouver’s welcome. The Opening Ceremony also had several well- live on www.ParalympicSport.TV, as well as known athletes with a disability who have in several countries all around the world and Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver 2010 contributed to the Paralympic Movement on outdoor big-screen televisions at the city of Organizing Committee (VANOC) John Furlong like Terry Fox, who aimed to run a marathon Vancouver’s LiveCity celebration site, Cana- spoke at the Opening Ceremony, and said across Canada. Fox ran what amounted to a dians had the chance to be part of the spec- that the people of Canada are ready to wel- marathon a day, for a total of 143 days, before tacular event and experience the excitement. come Paralympic athletes and their families. his lungs succumbed to cancer forcing him He said that since the time Vancouver was to stop. Terry Fox’s name is now a part of a During the Opening Ceremony, a parade of awarded the Winter Games in 2003, the coun- massive worldwide marathon initiative, which athletes entered the stadium soon after a try has pledged to successfully carry out the raises money for cancer research. dance routine which involved hundreds of Paralympic Games for all athletes to achieve volunteers dressed in colourful clothes. One their best performances. Other performers during the Opening Cere- athlete from each country was chosen as the mony included well-known Canadian singers flagbearer, leading each team onto the main In his speech, IPC President Sir Philip Craven and performers which marked an exciting be- stage area with a cheering crowd to welcome prepared the athletes and audience for the ginning to the Vancouver Winter Paralympics. them. Especially the reception of the Cana- action-packed and inspiring string of perfor- One of the highlights was a dancer on crutches dian Team brought in a most roaring sound mances that were to take over the country. who excited the audience with his incredibly of cheering from the audience. agile and awe-inspiring movements. “When your athletic performances are com- Audience members were each given a bag full bined with the human endeavour shown by The event ended with hundreds of dancers of various interactive elements to the cere- the volunteers, staff and spectators, the Para- flooding the stage, and confetti pieces fired mony, including a pom-pom full of orange lympic Spirit is born ‘with Glowing Hearts’,” into the air. VancouVer | short Stories 09 torch relay Covers Canada Carried in a curved steel blue torch designed and manufactured by Bombardier, the Paralympic Flame, visited several community cele- bration sites all around Canada. The ten-day journey had stops in Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Victoria and Esquimalt, Squamish, Whistler, Lytton and Hope, Maple Ridge, and Vancouver. The Paralympic Flame, which has no ancestral home, was ignited and blessed in Ottawa on 3 March by Aboriginal firekeepers of the Pikwakanagan and Kitigan Zibi Algonquin bands on Victoria Is- land during a special ceremony. It was then placed in a lantern and brought to the Parliament Buildings where it was passed to three youth representatives from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Métis National Council. They then brought the trio of flames to the stage located on the Hill’s historic front lawn where Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed and Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob, on behalf of the Four Host First Nations, reunited the flames in the Paralympic Cauldron. To start each day of the relay, a new Para- lympic Flame was created by members of the local Abori- ginal community, in accordance with their customs, wherever the daily torch re- lay celebration was taking place. On 6 the Paralympic torch hit spectacular viewing points March in Greater Vic- toria for example, Songhees elder Mike Charlie Sr. and his son, Mike Jr., sparked the day’s flame by putting a lighter to split cedar and newspaper. About 375 people had gathered for the event at Archie Browning Centre in Esquimalt with an included pancake breakfast hosted by the Esquimalt Lions Club. The highly anticipated 24-hour event of the Paralympic Torch Relay began near Robson Square on 11 March in downtown Vancouver, One of the highlights was a where the Paralympic Flame was carried and passed between Torchbearers for a full dancer on crutches who day.