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
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


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.