Blind Pass: 2010 Winter Paralympics

The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the X Paralympic Winter Games, are being held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to March 21, 2010. The Opening Ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia.

There are only 5 sports on this Olympics program:

1.) Alpine skiing

Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. Disabled ski racers compete in three different medal categories: standing, sitting, and visually impaired. Each of these groups is divided into three to seven classes, some of which are further subdivided into two or three sub-classes. Within each of the three major categories, times are compared by means of a "factor system" that attempts to put athletes with different disabilities on a level playing field with one another by multiplying the time of each racer in a given class or sub-class by a fixed number between zero and one called a factor. The result, known as "adjusted time," is the time that commonly appears on result lists for disabled ski races.

2.) Biathlon

Paralympic biathlon is an adaptation of biathlon for athletes with a disability. Paralympic biathlon is one of two Nordic skiing disciplines in the Winter Paralympic Games. It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee. Paralympic biathlon includes standing events, sitting events (for wheelchair users), and events for visually impaired athletes. Visually impaired athletes use a rifle that use sound to indicate to the athlete how accurate their aim is, and shoots a laser beam at the target.

3.) Cross-country skiing

Paralympic cross-county skiing is an adaptation of cross-country skiing for athletes with a disability. Paralympic cross-country skiing is one of two Nordic skiing disciplines in the Winter Paralympic Games. It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee. Paralympic cross-country skiing includes standing events, sitting events (for wheelchair users), and events for visually impaired athletes.
The Paralympics cross country skiing is made for skiers with disabilities. It is an adaptation of cross country skiing, only it allows a wide variety of people who have mutations, amputations, blindness, or any other physical disability, to continue their sport. This sport appeared at the 1976 Winter Games in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, for the first time. Depending on the competitors’ functional disability, an athlete has the option of using a sit-ski. This is a chair with a pair of skis equipped to the bottom of it. Many Sit-skiers use this because they have no use of their legs. This is called paraplegic. To ensure the safety of people with blindness, they follow a guide through the whole race. Standing skiers are skiers with a locomotive disability and who are able to use the same equipment as able-bodied skiers.

4.) Wheelchair Curling

Wheelchair curling is an adaptation of curling for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair curling is governed by the World Curling Federation, and is one of the sports in the Winter Paralympic Games. Wheelchair curling is played with the same rocks and on the same ice as regular curling, though the rocks are thrown from a stationary wheelchair and there is no sweeping. Rocks may be thrown by hand while leaning over the side of the wheelchair, or pushed by a delivery stick. This is a pole with a bracket that fits over the rock handle, allowing the rock to be pushed while applying correct rotation.

5.) Sledge Hockey

Sledge hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey (also known as sled hockey in the United States) was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center. It is currently one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games. International ice sledge hockey became an official event in 1994 for the beginning of the Paralympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, with Sweden claiming the first gold medal for ice sledge hockey competition. In 1998 the following Paralympic Games in Nagano, Japan, Norway won the gold medal as Canada and Sweden took the silver and bronze respectively. For the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the gold medal belonged to the United States with Norway and Sweden finishing second and third. The 2006 Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy saw the gold medal go to Canada, silver to Norway and bronze to the United States. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it will be the first time when the tournament is going to be disputed by mixed teams; teams are permitted to have female athletes on their rosters, previously having been only competed by men.