Family Fun at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games

For months, Karleen Gill has had May 6 circled on her calendar. She plans to buy Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games tickets the instant they become available.

“I’ve been telling people the tickets go on sale in early May but I don’t tell them it’s May 6 because I want to get mine first!” laughed Gill, a sports fan and a Vancouver 2010 pre-Games volunteer from Richmond, BC.

Family Affordability

Because the Paralympic tickets are so affordable, Gill says she’ll buy 20 ice sledge hockey tickets so her 11-year-old son, James, and his hockey teammates can catch the action live. She also hopes to snap up some tickets to the Whistler alpine skiing and Nordic events.

Gill — herself a recreational hockey player — and her son became hooked on watching ice sledge hockey last year when Paralympic School Day (an education and participation program) came to James’s elementary school. Canadian ice sledge hockey player Todd Nicholson attended the school sessions and explained the basics of Paralympic winter sports to the kids.

Then in February, the Gills were among the hundreds of fans in the stands at the University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Arena to watch the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup of ice sledge hockey. Canada wound up winning in a thrilling game, narrowly beating the United States 2–1 in a shootout. Following a preliminary game, Nicholson handed James a puck, which now sits in a special case in his bedroom as a reminder that his week was made.

“If you like hockey you’ll like (ice) sledge hockey,” Gill said. “The intensity is what I have seen out of professional NHL games. It’s a sport I’ve followed a little bit and I’m not quite sure how to put this, but it feels like pure sport. You don’t have professionals involved . . . they’re amateurs and they’re making a really big sacrifice to do this.”

Spectator Experience

Spectators at the sporting events of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will be treated to all the cowbell chiming, flag waving and colour commentary we’ve come to expect at major international sporting events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For instance, at ice sledge hockey, a massive screen hanging above centre ice will keep spectators entertained with highlight reels of the previous day’s events. The Gills may even spot themselves on the big screen if the arena’s roving host stops by to chat with them. And if you haven’t been to a Paralympic Games before, you’ll get an eyeful of bizarre and colourful costumes both at the event and at the Victory Ceremonies.

Spectator fun is part of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. As part of each event, a series of specially produced sport videos to be shown at all venues during the Games. By taking in the whole Paralympic Winter Games experience, spectators may come away with a new perspective on human strength and a better understanding of what a person can accomplish when fuelled by a dream.

Related Links
Get your tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games
Paralympic School Day

Watch the vancouver2010.com Para alpine skiing video podcast

Watch the vancouver2010.com ice sledge hockey video podcast
Meet Sumi the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games mascot
Paralympic Games merchandise