Paralympic Torch Relay

Very exciting day!
The 2010 Paralympic torch relay began today in Ottawa. This relay will be a 10-day journey with over 600 torchbearers, and will visit 11 communities.

If you can look back to before those 17 crazy days, you'd remember that the Olympic torch relay was a 106-day journey with 12,000 torchbearers and visited 1,000 communities.

In a perfect world I would love to see the Paralympic Games to be just as big and recognized as the Olympic Games, however in reality, I don't think that's going to happen. But I do think it is a little ridiculous that the Paralympic Torch Relay is 96 days shorter, has 20 times less torchbearers and visits about one hundredth of the communities. What kind of message is that conveying to people? Do you think that this is part of the problem?

I realize that Canada has done the most out of any of the host countries to try to include the Paralympic Games, and prove that they are just as worth-while as the Olympic Games. As much as Vancouver has done though, I believe they could do a little more, and whether people would buy it, is out of anyone's control, but the effort would be nice to see. What do you think?

On a lighter note, the opening day of the Paralympic torch relay was a great one! Every one of the 13 provinces and territories sent one honourable citizen to carry the torch on the opening day.

British Columbia Rick Mercer; comedian
Alberta Dr. Robert Steadward; Founding president of the International Paralympic Committee
Saskatchewan Jasmine Gerein; daughter of seven-time Paralympian Clayton Gerein
Manitoba Jared Funk; medal-winning Paralympian
Ontario Justin Hines; singer-songwriter
Quebec Dean Bergeron; Paralympic wheelchair racer
Newfoundland and Labrador Erica Noonan; swimmmer
New Brunswick Sabrina Pettinicchi Durepos; four-time Paralympian and wheelchair basketball player
Nova Scotia Chelsea Gotell; swimmer
Prince Edward Island Colin MacLeod; ice sledge hockey player
Yukon Rick Goodfellow; advocate for the rights of people with disabilities
Northwest Territories Katherine Elkin; para-swimmer
Nunavut Simon Koomak; golfer

The Cauldron will be lit at BC Place on March 12th, tune into the Opening Ceremonies at 6:00pm to see the legacy being born.

Here is a comparison of the Paralympic and Olympic torch and uniform. They are identical, except for the colour and logos.

Lighting the Cauldron

Here we are! This is it, day 106, the final day of the longest ever domestic torch relay in Olympic history! Who do you think will be doing the final leg of the torch relay, and lighting the cauldron today? Can you believe it? TODAY!

There's been tons of speculations about who will be the final torch bearer. People are thinking Wayne Gretzky, Betty Fox, Nancy Greene-Raine, Karen Magnussen, Cindy Klassen and Michael J. Fox.

But those aren't the only options, what about an average citizen? Robyn Perry was a 12-year-old schoolgirl and figure skater who lit the flame in Calgary in 1988, and she wasn't famous. And in Montreal it was Stephane Prefontaine and Sandra Henderson, two everyday teenagers. So it could be anyone.

The favourites of course are Betty Fox and Wayne Gretzky, but who do you think would be the best suited Canadian to light the cauldron?

Torch Relay Volunteer Interview

Yesterday I was at ValleyFest in Lynn Valley, and it was an absolute great time! It is going to be open all throughtout the Games, so I suggest you go check it out. The people are amazing, they have live music, athletes, festivities and much more. I happened to meet Emily Chan there, so we went and did a few interviews. Here is one of them:



Thanks to Emily for filming this video, check out her blog at http://elouise17days.blogspot.com/

Raise the Torch

The Olympic Torch Relay is a symbol of peace, enlightenment and brotherhood. Torch and relay races were very important parts of the cultural festivities surrounding the Games. These events had deep ritual significance, which is still respected in the Olympic Torch Relay today. The first ever Olmypic Torch Relay was at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games, but the first Winter Games Torch Relay occurred in 1952 in Oslo, Norway. Since then, the Torch Relay has been a huge part of the Games, and each relay reflects the hosting country's culture.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch was initially lit in Olympia Greece on October 22, 2010, but the actual Torch Relay began on October 30th in Victoria, British Columbia. From Victoria, ir went out to Eastern Canada and is now making it's way back to the West Coast. Today is day 73 of the relay, and today the torch traveled from Regina to Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The torch travels approximetaly 300 km every day. So far the torch has travelled over 33 000km, visited about 800 communities and had 8 300 torchbearers. Before the torch reaches its final destination of Vancouver, 12 000 people will have had the opportunity to carry the torch, 1000 communities will have cheered it on as it passed by, and it will have traveled 45 000km, coast to coast along this beautiful country. The torch relay organizers have put in so much effort to make this relay special, and unique from any other torch relay. They have got creative and came up with 100 different ways that the torch will be traveling; some examples include dogsled, chuckwagon, bike, plane, tomato harvester, snowboard, rollerblades, boat, wheelchair, horseback, fire truck, surf board, streetcar, crutches and my personal favourite, Zamboni. We are Canadian! I am proud to say that this is the longest domestic Torch Relay in Olympic history!


Olympic Athlete of the Day: Matthew Morison is a 22-year-old snowboarder from Burketon, Ont. His specialty event is the men’s parallel giant slalom. Morison has been on the World Cup circuit for 4 years now, his first World Cup was in 2007 and since then he has made 10 podium finishes. Matthew has never competed in the Olympic Games before, but when asked about it, this is what he had to say, "It's something I think about every day. It's a huge event. To get a gold medal there can change your life. That was always the dream as a kid. I want to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Everybody does. Obviously I know now how much work it's going to take.” Just last week Morison won gold at the Parallel Giant Slalom event in Colorado, but unfortunately during his qualifying runs he crashed into a net and fractured his elbow. The young Canadian will still be able to compete at the Olympic Games, but will need 4 to 6 weeks of rest, which will really hurt his training.

Paralympic Athlete of the Day: Brian McKeever is a legally blind 31 year old from Canmore, Alberta. Brian started cross country skiing at the age of 3, and loved it. What he enjoys most about skiing is the adrenaline rush he receives when competing. Tragically at age 19, Brian was diagnosed with Stargaard’s disease (loss of central vision). Since then McKeever has not let this tragedy affect him, he has been competing in the blind skier category. Not only does he cross-country ski, but he also competes in Biathalon. The Albertan Skier has competed in two Paralympic Games, 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Torino. However, last year Brian became the first athlete with a disability to ski in an able-bodied race. McKeever’s goal is to become the first disabled athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Brian's vision guide is his older brother Robin McKeever.

Paralympic Pride

The Paralympic Games are not near as anticipated or as widely broadcasted as the Olympic Games. I know this is bad, but to tell you the truth, before I got this opportunity with Students Live I hardly knew anything about the Paralympic Games. So I'm going to share with you some of the basic must-knows:

The Paralympic Games run from March 12th to March 21st, this is a little shorter than the 17 days of Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games have their own opening and closing ceremonies, they have their own logo, mascot and torch relay. Most of these things are a lot smaller for the Paralympic Games; for instance section A tickets to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies cost $1100, and section A tickets to the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies are $175. That is quite the difference. The Paralympic Games have been around since 1960, compared to the Olympic Games which have been running since 1896. There are 15 events in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games there are 5. Those events are wheelchair curling, sledge hockey, biathlon, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. For the alpine skiing, biathlon and cross-country skiing there are 2 categories; standing and sitting. Sitting is for athletes who are missing a leg or foot for example, and the standing category is for athletes who can stand normally, but might be visually impaired.

The Paralympic torch relay is a 10 day journey with about 600 torchbearers, compared to the Olympic torch relay that is a 106 day journey and has about 12,000 torchbearers. The total number of Olympic athletes and officials is around 5,500 while the total number of Paralympic athletes and officials is 1,350. The number of countries participating in Olympic Winter Games is over 80, and the number of countries participating in Paralympic Winter Games is half of that. There are 1.6 million tickets available for the Olympic Winter Games, divide that by 6 for the number of tickets available for the 2010 Paralympic Games. So as you can tell, most of these Paralympic events are not quite as big and extravagant as the Olympic ones.

I think the Olympic athletes are so inspiring with all their talent, effort and determination, they have so much drive to do well and never give up, and for that I look up to them. It is unreal the heart and passion they have for their sport. But then you have to think about these Paralympic athletes, some of them are born disabled, and some are in tragic accidents, but instead of grieving their whole lives, they make the best of what they have. They create goal, and strive for it with everything they have. The Paralympic athletes have so many more obstacles to overcome. Missing a leg, or not being able to see and still being able to ski down a mountain is just amazing!