50 Days

01.16.10
Fifty days left until I leave. I received my venue specific training assignment and work schedule today. At my training session I'll be introduced to the rest of the volunteer team I'll be working with during the Games, I'll receive key information about where I'll be working and I'll be given an extensive tour of the venue. Every time I receive an e-mail from VANOC with updates, I feel an indescribable level of excitement!

Paralympic Winter Games Factoids

01.09.10
Today, there are more than 21 million Americans with a physical disability, including thousands of military personnel who sustained serious injuries during active duty over the last few years.

There are five Paralympic sports categories:

Sledge Hockey

• Sledge hockey was introduced as a medal sport in the 1994 Lillehammer Games. More commonly known as sled hockey in the U.S., the sport has been played in this country since the late 1980s. Team USA won its first Paralympic medal in the sport - the gold medal - at the Salt Lake Games in 2002.
• Just as in ice hockey, sled hockey is played with six players (including a goalie) at a time. Players propel themselves on their sledge by use of spikes on the ends of two three-foot-long sticks, enabling a player to push himself as well as shoot and pass ambidextrously. Rinks and goals are regulation Olympic-size, and games consist of three 15-minute stop-time periods.
• Paralympic sled hockey competition is open to male athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation/limb loss, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.
  

Alpine Skiing (my volunteer assignment)

• Downhill racing started as a demonstration event at the 1980 Paralympic Games in Geilo, Norway. The giant slalom was first a demonstration event in 1984, and mono-skiing was introduced in the alpine and Nordic events in 1988 at the Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
• The alpine disciplines include the same events contested in Olympic competition: downhill, slalom, giant slalom and super-G.
• Paralympic alpine skiing competition is open to male and female athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.

Biathlon

• Biathlon has been a part of the Paralympic Winter Games since 1992 in Tignes, France, where only the visually impaired and the standing classes competed. At Lillehammer in 1994, the sitting classes also participated. Biathletes compete using the freestyle technique.
• Biathlon combines elements of cross country skiing and sharp shooting. Athletes ski three 2.5 km loops (7.5 km total), stopping after the first two loops to shoot at five targets (10 targets total). One minute is added to the athlete's finishing time for each miss.

Cross Country Skiing

• Cross country events have been a part of the Paralympic Winter Games since the sport was first introduced at the Ornskjoldsvik (Sweden) Games in 1976.
• Cross country races range from 2.5 km to 20 km depending on disability and gender.
• Paralympic nordic skiing competition is open to male and female athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation/limb loss, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.
  

Wheelchair Curling

• Wheelchair curling made its debut at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino as a medal event.
• Unlike in Olympic curling, there is no sweeping.
• Paralympic wheelchair curling competition is open to male and female athletes. A player must have significant impairments in lower leg/gait function (e.g. spinal injury, MS, double leg amputation, etc.), so that a wheelchair is used for daily mobility – more specifically, those who are non-ambulant or can walk only very short distances. Determination of minimum disability and appropriate classification is made by authorized international sports classifiers.

Source: usparalympics.org

UPDATE: Eric Eales, a wheelchair curling expert from Canada, informed me that the current wheelchair curling rules are under discussion to possibly change after April 2010. To check out his blog go to http://wheelchaircurlingblog.blogspot.com/. Thanks Eric!

To donate to the U.S. Paralympics go to ... https://secure3.convio.net/usoc/site/Donation2?1722.donation=form1&df_id=1722.

Countdown to Vancouver

01.01.10
With only 65 days left until I leave for Vancouver I've been in preparation mode.

• As part of my Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) training I've had to learn about the history of the Olympics and Paralympics through a series of online tests.
• I underwent a comprehensive background check in order to receive my accreditation.
• I've received details about my official uniform that will be issued to me upon my arrival (it's super cool). I learned that I'm not allowed to be photographed with athletes or accept gifts while I'm in uniform.
• I went on a mini shopping spree to get some essential items I'll need such as a passport/ID holder to wear around my neck, quality long underwear, dry/warm Merrell boots and warm gloves that meet my uniform requirements.
• I booked my flight on Air Canada ... the cost was a little surprising. I learned the fare is calculated according to the current exchange rate and unfortunately the U.S. dollar isn't strong right now.
  
• I contacted my host Karin to confirm that I'll have Internet access and use of laundry facilities.
• I received my travel papers from VANOC stating the purpose of my visit to Vancouver for use when I arrive at customs.

Lots of things to absorb and do, but all worth it!

Northern Bound

12.23.09
For the past eight years I persistently applied to be volunteer for the Winter Games. A lifetime winter sports enthusiast, serving as a volunteer for the Winter Games has been at the top of my bucket list.

I am proud to say I finally made the cut! I received an offer today to be an attendant for the Paralympics. My job will entail assisting the athletes and coaches at Whistler Creekside, the venue for Alpine skiing. I was selected by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games out of more than 70,000 applicants.

I will be leaving on March 7 for training before the Games begin and returning on March 22. My host is a wonderful lady named Karin who lives in a historic home in West Vancouver.

I hope you enjoy following my journey through my blog. Go Team USA!

Image Credit: VANOC