This is a don't miss event.  We have no coverage in the USA on the major networks of the Paralympics during the events.

But there is going to be a recap of the highlights this Saturday from 3 to 5 PM ET on NBC  If you already have plans- tape it to watch later.

  NBC did a similar program after the summer Paralympics in Beijing. I watched it with my family they all agreed it was marvelous, inspirational, would not have wanted to miss it.

                                                         ellie

The Paralympics are now over and the official mascot Sumi we'll be able to rest for a few more years.

Part orca whale, thunderbird and black bear, Sumi is the official mascot of both the Olympics and the Paralympics. His name comes from the word "Sumesh," meaning guardian spirit. He acts as the guardian over the other Olympic mascots, slightly wiser and older than Quatchi and Miga.

This 2010 Paralympics had  athletes who represented 21 countries. There were 192 levels of competition producing 64 gold, 65 silver and 63 bronze medals.

The top five countries in the medal count are Russia (12,gold, 16 silver, 8 bronze) Germany (13 gold, 5 silver,6 bronze), Canada(10 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze), Ukraine(5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze) and the U.S.(4 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze).  For those of you who were not able to see these Paralympic athletes in their sporting events there is still time. You can go to the site below and see re-runs of all the games.      http://www.paralympic.org/search.html

If your not familiar with the Paralympics a brief overview of the classification system should help in the appreciation of the athletes.

The Alpine Skiing Classification System

1.VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Visually Impaired -has 3 Sub classifications from totally blind to visual acuity above 2/60

 "Vision is to have sight,an idea or a dream"

Visually Impaired Danelle Umstead and her guide and husband Rob Umstead won a bronze medal in the super combined women's visually impaired alpine event. Danelle has no central vision and is losing her peripheral vision due to retinitis pigmentosa and early onset macular degeneration.

2. STANDING

There are nine Sub- classifications .They range from severe functional impairment in both legs including incomplete paraplegia and bilateral leg amputees- to less severe like a loss of one arm or one leg .  An example in this category is: 

 Monte Meir in his 5th Paralympic alpine ski race. Monte lost his right leg in a garden-tilling accident when he was 8 years old. But it didn't keep him down. The next year he started skiing. He uses skis on the bottom of his poles (out-rigger) and his good leg.He won his 1st Paralympic medal at Lillehammer in 1993.

3.SITTING :

The sitting criteria is based on Sitting Balance.  It ranges from Poor balance due to high spinal cord injury to good sitting balance (low spinal cord injury or double leg amputee).

An example of this is Laurie Stephens competing in the  sitting giant slalom. Small in size but a powerhouse on skis!        

Laurie was born with Spinal Bifida and she started skiing age at age 12. When she went to Loon Mountain in New Hampshire with a disabled group she discovered skiing and it has been an important part her life ever since.  

The Nordic Skiing Classifications is quite similar to the Alpine.

An example of SITTING in the Nordic Skiing Classification is Andy  Soule. Andy won the bronze medal in the 2.4 km pursuit sitting biathlon. He is the 1st U.S. athlete to win this medal in biathlon in either Olympic or

Sitting biathlon skiers use a sit- ski(a seat attached to a pair of skis) and they pole their way around the cross country course with an exhausting double-pull technique. Andy's disability is that of a double above knee amputee. He sustained this injury   in 2005  when a roadside bomb exploded next to his Humvee in Iraq.

Wheelchair Curling in the Paralympics

Curling is an all inclusive sport and there is no classification system.  Any person using a wheelchair is eligible to apply.  The USA Wheelchair Curling team came in fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics. First place was Canada who won gold, silver went to South Korea and bronze to Sweden.

Jaqui Kapinowski with two of her USA Wheelchair Curling  teammates. Jaqui loves racing. She has completed 52 marathons and has crossed the finish line many ways including running with a walker and in a push rim  wheelchair. It was James Joseph (jimmy jam) who introduced her to the sport of Wheelchair Curling. James lost both his legs in 1987 when he was pinned between two vehicles. But this has not kept him down.

Another member Patrick Macdonald who is new to the sport(just two years) lost the use of his legs when the army vehicle he was riding in rolled over on the way back from a patrol in Korea.

Augusto Peres from Syracuse New York was originally from Spain.  He came over here to the U.S. for his senior year of high school and stayed. He attending Paul Smith and then LE Moyne College.  Three bouts of a rare form of cancer resulted in amputation of his left leg.

The last member of the team James Spears is also from Syracuse New York.  He came to the sport reluctantly but when he realized it's like playing chess on the ice he was hooked.

SLED HOCKEY

Sled Hockey which was developed in Sweden became an official Paralympic event in 1994 at Lillehammer,Norway.  Since that time it has become one of the most popular Paralympic events.  Sled Ice Hockey is essentially played to the same rules as regular ice hockey.  There are slight accommodations which would be needed because of the disability.  For example they use adaptive sleds and are strapped into them. This restriction of mobility eliminates the need for any classification. All are made equal by this restriction.

 Team USA wins Gold in Sled Hockey at Vancouver beating Japan 2-0.  This victory makes United States the first nation to have two gold medal winning set hockey teams.  This outstanding young team completed a five game unbeaten streak of games to bring the gold medal back to the U.S. for the first time since 2002.  For more information on the team and its members go to U.S. Paralympics http://www.teamusa.org/

And when you go onto this site and winter sports are not your main interest check out the other sports like in the summer Paralympics. Here there are many more different sports. If there's one you yourself play or have a special interest in check out how they use adaptive equipment.  The use of this equipment allows people with disabilities to use their outstanding athletic ability to also play that game that you both love.

                                         ellie

"whether you are blind,backwards,on one ski or three,we all have to use the same physics and biomechanics to make the ski turn and go down the hill" as told to Stephanie Victor by her first ski instructor.

Stephani became a double-leg above the knee amputee after an out of control car hit her when she was 26. After 11 reconstructive surgeries Stephani had her 1st lesson on a mono-ski.

Victor took her second  silver medal in the giant slalom on Tuesday.

Alana Nichols became a spinal cord injured athlete  after breaking her back in a snowboarding accident when she was 17.  She began playing wheelchair basketball in college and moved onto the Parylympic team and also into skiing.

Alana Nichols won the Gold Medal in the Woman's sitting Giant Slalom. She is the first female US Paralympian to win gold in both the summer(wheelchair basketball,2008) and winter games. For more information on these and other U.S. Paralympic Athletes go to http://usparalympics.org/

The US Curling team has secured a place in the final game of the round robin after beating Japan. They will be playing Switzerland at 12:30 Thursday .You can watch it or a replay on paralympicsports.com

  USA Sled hockey beats Japan and moves on to play Norway tonight in the semifinals. Don't miss this it will be so exciting. If you've never watched sled hockey this will be a great first time event!! Watch it at 7pm Thursday might on paralympicsports.com

The Paralympics Winter Games  officially opened March 12 in Vancouver Canada with a thrilling opening ceremony.

The Torch was lit then nearly 5000 performers filled the stage .The theme of "one inspires many" was reinforced by all the dancers, singers, acrobats, athletes, and musicians to celebrate the compelling achievements of 506 athletes from 44 countries around the world.

This event was broadcasted live on www.  ParalympicSport.TV, as well as big screen televisions outdoors at Vancouver's live City Celebration Site.

You can watch the opening events as well as the ongoing paralympic sport events on ParalympicSport.TV.

There are live as well as rebroadcast events in Alpine Skiing, Biathlon,Cross-Country Skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Curling. Both men and women's events.

    WHEELCHAIR    CURLING              SLEDGE HOCKEY             ALPINE SKIING

 CROSS COUNTRY SKIING                 BIATHOLON                            ALPINE SKIING

 THESE ARE MUST WATCH EVENTS!   BE PREPARED TO BE awed,stimulated,inspired then just involved!!

                                                          ellie

Turn on your TV this Sunday November 9 at  2:30 PM to NBC. There will be an in depth  documentary  about the 2008 Paralympic games held in Beijing China. This 90 minute documentary will be narrated by the NBC sports announcer Bob Costas.  This special which has been produced by the Emmy award winning David Michaels will take you on a journey into the lives of eight athletes (who are disabled) plus the wheelchair basketball team.

As you watch this special be prepared to be blown away by what you will see!  As David Michaels said in all his 30 years of covering Olympic sports events never has he seen such a rich tapestry of stories in competition. It reminded him why he fell in love with sports in the first place.

So tune in to see what our team TEAM USA did at the Paralympic games in Beijing.  They earned a  total of 99 medals with outstanding performances by  all.  The American athletes who will be profiled  are from  swimming, track and field ,wheelchair racing ,basketball and yachting.            

Enjoy, Ellie.