Countdown to the Paralympics!

Vancouver and Whistler will host Canada's first Winter Paralympic Games from March 12-21, 2010. The competition will showcase over 1,300 athletes from 44 countries around the world.

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There are five paralympic sports and 64 events included in the schedule.  Paralympic sports include Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Sledge Ice Hockey and Wheelchair Curling.

Alpine ski racing for disabled athletes has a long history, as competitions began in the late 1940s.  Athletes who cannot stand to ski are able to compete in a seated position by using a mono-ski. Competitions are held for downhill, super-G, giant slalom and super combined.

In the biathlon and cross-country skiing events, athletes compete against those with similar disabilities (standing, sitting or visually impaired).  There are both short and long distances for the biathlon competition. In cross-country skiing, competitions are held for distances ranging from 2.5 to 20 km. There is also a relay event where teams are made up of skiers from the different categories of disability (standing, sitting and visually impaired).

In sledge ice hockey the athletes sit on sledges, which have blades on the bottom.  The players hold two double-sided sticks.  One side is a pick used to help move them across the ice, while the other side is a stick used for shooting.

Wheelchair curling is a co-ed sport that was introduced to the Paralympics in Turin (2006).  The main difference between wheelchair curling and regular curling is that the players do not sweep the ice once the stone is thrown.

Schedule of Events

For a complete schedule of Paralympic events, click here.

Vancouver events include the Opening Ceremony at BC Place, Wheelchair Curling at Vancouver Olympic Centre and Sledge Ice Hockey at UBC’s Thunderbird Arena.

The Whistler Celebration Site in the Whistler Town Centre will host the Closing Ceremony as well as nightly Victory Ceremonies. Whistler Creekside will be the venue for Alpine Skiing, while the Whistler Olympic Park (Callaghan Valley) will be the site for Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon.

Watch the Games:

If you can't catch the games in person, over 50 hours of television broadcasting is planned, the most ever by a Canadian broadcaster.  The broadcast will be done by a consortium of CTVglobemedia and Rogers Media.

Live online coverage of events, interviews and on-demand programming is also available online at Paralympic Sport TV.   A schedule of online programming is available here.

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