Expectations

It might be accurate to say that every Canadian was hoping to see Canada win all 3 gold medals in the hockey events. After the conclusion of the Olympic Games, all was good, but since Thursday those dreams were shattered. Canada's sledge hockey team lost 3-1 to Japan, of all countries, in the semi-finals which knocked them out of running. Today they played for bronze, and I know I thought it was a sure win, but I guess I was wrong. Canada lost 2-1 to Norway. Although the sledge team may not have done as well as us Canadians wanted, they did have a great tournament. I think Canadian expectations were too high.

Unfortunately I did not get to see Canada play live, but I did watch their games on TV. I will say Canada played amazingly in all of their games. They are aggressive, they were fast, they could stick handle and pass like a team. I don't think it was for lack of effort that we did not medal, and there's no chance in my mind that it was due to lack of talent. The 2010 Canadian sledge hockey team was talented, and hard working, but I just think Canada doesn't dominate this sport as much as regular ice hockey. I think some teams in this tournament have really proven themselves and came out to be shockingly good. The Japanese and Korean for example.

I kind of feel bad for the poor team. Canada put so much pressure on them, expecting the third gold in hockey. The team played well and tried their best, and that's all we could ask for. I hope they don't feel like they've let down our country because they played amazing and tried so hard, and that's all we could have asked for. We are proud of you boys! And Sochi 2014 will be our time to shine.

A Day of Firsts

For me, it was a day of firsts.
Today I attended my first ice sledge hockey game and my first wheelchair curling game.
I was fairly uneducated about both of these sports before the events, but after I had a much better understanding.
What I learned today:
- the benches in sledge hockey are made of ice rather than rubber
- wheelchair curling is co-ed
- in sledge hockey there's a penalty called "teeing" which is given to a player who charges an opponent using any part of the front of their sled
- wheelchair curling does not involve sweeping
- sledge hockey is three 15 minute periods, instead of 20 minute periods like in ice hockey
- 4 games of curling go on at the same time, which I would have found very hard to follow except for the fact that my eyes were fixed on the Canada vs. USA game
- there is no women's sledge hockey
- the face-offs in sledge hockey are taken with the players sitting sideways



I know being a Paralympic reporter and all, I should probably have know all these rules, but I've never even seen any of these sports on TV so how would I know. I think that all people are going to learn a lot from these Paralympic Games, and maybe these Games will be the start of worldwide Paralympic knowledge.

From the stands at the Vancouver Paralympic Center I could hear everyone asking one-another about how the score works or even if they know what's going on. It was quite obvious that there wasn't a huge percentage of the crowd who knew about the sport of curling. I am sure though that by the end of the game, people were a lot more knowledgeable about the sport. It was cool to see how everyone was slowly figuring out how the game works. After every end, the crowd had learned something new.



I'm excited for the days to come where I will be learning so much more, and so will the rest of the world!

Another highlight of my day was at the Vancouver Paralympic Center when I went down to the wheelchair accessibility viewing area to visit Kate. We were talking about her run with the torch, then it just to happened that another one of the boys with us at the moment was also a torchbearer, and to the left of us was another curling spectator who also happened to carry the torch. That's 3 Paralympic torchbearers within about 3 meters of eachother! They were all sharing their memories from the relay, they all had amazing stories and memories to last a lifetime. I loved listening to them saying how that might have been the single greatest moment of their lives. What a cool feeling to be sharing that with one-another!

In need of change..

Why is it that there's no womens ski jumping in the Olympic Games? And why is it that in women's hockey they are not allowed to hit? And the women have to wear full face masks when the men don't? None of this makes sence to me... Canada is supposed to be a country of equal rights. I understand that these rules are set by the IOC and Canada really has nothing to do with it, but shouldn't someone have said something about these rules a long time ago. The Olympic Games are the largest and most prestigious sporting event in the world, and you'd think that by now they would have equal rights for men and women. Thay should be setting an example for the world to follow, but I guess not.

Paralympic Athlete of the Day Paul Rosen is Canada's 49 year old Sledge Hockey Goalie. Rosen started playing hockey at a very young age, however after a serious injury playing the sport, Paul was unable to compete. He spent many years with infections and unbearable pain until his lower leg was finally amputated at age 39. During his recovery, Rosen took up sledge hockey, he showed a great deal of talent in the sport and made the National Team. He competed in the 2002 Winter Games and the 2006 Winter Games where their team took home the gold. Is that a success story or what?
In 2007 while at an autograph session with fans in Toronto, Paul's gold medal was stolen. During a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, commentator Don Cherry told the theif to drop the gold medal in a mailbox. The medal then turned up at a postal sorting station in Toronto and was returned to the goalie.