Source : ABC NEWS
The Winter Olympics may have finished, but the excitement is not over yet, with Australia sending one of its biggest teams ever to Milano Cortina for the Winter Paralympics.
Australia has a proud history at the Games, with the likes of Paralympic medallists Michael Milton and Ben Tudhope showing what our Para athletes can do on the slopes.
So, if you want to know your giant slalom from your banked slalom, your sit ski from your sighted guide, this article is for you.
The Winter Paralympics officially start on March 6, local time (Saturday morning AEDT) with the opening ceremony at the Arena di Verona, where the Olympics had its closing ceremony.
Competition did begin a couple of days beforehand, on March 4, with preliminary rounds in wheelchair curling, which Australia is not competing in.
The Games run for nine days and will finish on March 15.
The opening ceremony will get underway at 8pm, which is 6am AEDT.
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the Winter Paralympics, which have been held in the same host cities as the Winter Olympics since 1992.
It is also the second time that the Winter Games have been held in Italy, with Torino hosting the Paralympics in 2006.
Like the Olympics, the Paralympics are being hosted by two cities, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Competition will be spread across five venues around north-east Italy, from Para Ice Hockey in Milan to Para Snowboarding in Cortina.
There are six sports taking place at the Paralympics this year, with a mixed doubles event making its debut in Para Curling.
Athletes have represented Australia predominantly in the Alpine sports over previous Games, but will be competing in four events for the first time at these Paralympics, the Para Cross-Country, Para Biathlon, Para Snowboarding, and Para Alpine Skiing.
Here’s a rundown of all six events.
Para Alpine Skiing
With speeds reaching up to 100 kilometres an hour, Para Alpine Skiing is not for the faint-hearted.
There are five events, the Downhill, Super-G, Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super Combined, with athletes divided into three categories, including standing and sitting for those with physical impairments and vision impaired for athletes who are blind or have vision loss.
Standing skiers include athletes with limb loss or coordination impairments.
Some of these athletes use standard ski poles, while others use outriggers, which are short poles with skis on the end, for balance.
Athletes with upper limb impairments are also included in this category. However, they may use only one or no ski poles, and must rely on their torso and legs to turn and balance.
Sitting skiers include athletes with lower limb impairments, like paralysis. They use sit-skis or mono-skis, which allow the skier to sit in a bucket seat mounted on skis. They also use outriggers for stability.
Vision-impaired skiers rely on a guide to assist them down the slope. The guide communicates with the Para athlete via a radio or speaker device on their back.
Fun Fact: Alpine skiing was a foundational sport for the Winter Paralympics, which began in 1976.
Para Biathlon
A sport that combines the endurance of cross-country skiing and the precision of target shooting, Para Biathlon is a sport that tests athletes’ strength and focus.
In Milano Cortina, there are three events for men and women: the sprint pursuit, the 7.5-kilometre sprint and the 12.5-kilometre individual.
Athletes are divided into three categories, including standing, sitting and vision impaired, again, using similar ski equipment to the alpine skiers to make their way around the course.
In each race, athletes traverse the course several times. Between each stage, the athletes must shoot and hit targets that are 10 metres away. If they miss, they are penalised by an increase in overall time.
While athletes with physical impairments use a standard rifle and target, those with vision impairment are assisted by an acoustic signal. The intensity of the signal tells them when they are on target.
Fun Fact: James Millar became Australia’s first competitor in the Para Biathlon at the Torino Games in 2006. He also competed in the Para Cross Country.
Para Cross-Country
If you think cross-country running is hard, you need even more endurance for cross-country skiing, which involves traversing a course full of snow, slopes and hills.
Modified for skiers with disability, Para Cross-Country is open to athletes with physical and vision impairments. Again, athletes with physical impairments are placed into standing or sitting categories.
Stand skiers use two techniques in cross-country, the classic style, where skis move parallel to each other through tracks in the snow, and the free-style event, where skiers propel themselves along the track like a speed skater, pushing off the edge of their skis.
Sit skiers only compete in the classic event, using a bucket seat on cross-country skis to navigate the track. These athletes have incredible upper-body strength, required to push themselves around the course.
As with the alpine skiing and biathlon, vision-impaired skiers use a guide to help them navigate the course, communicating through radio or speakers.
There are twenty medal events in Para Cross-Country skiing in Milano Cortina, including classic and free style, sprint and interval start, as well as the mixed and open relays.
Fun Fact: Para Cross-Country is the other foundational sport for the Winter Paralympics, alongside Para Alpine Skiing.
Para Ice Hockey
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The home of collisions and ‘fisticuffs,’ Para Ice Hockey could be even more hardcore than the mainstream version of the game.
Para Ice Hockey is a sport for athletes with lower limb impairments, like spinal injury or amputation.
Competitors use a sledge with two blades, as well as two sticks to push themselves around the ice and handle the puck.
The games are contested by two teams, each attempting to score the most goals by hitting the puck into the opposing goal. Each team consists of six players on the ice, including the goalie.
Para Ice Hockey games go for three fifteen-minute periods.
With one classification level in Para Ice Hockey, athletes only have to meet the minimum impairment requirement to take to the ice.
Fun Fact: Para Ice Hockey is a mixed gender sport at the Paralympics, but only three women have ever competed at this level.
Para Snowboard
From your bank turns to who reaches the finish line first, Para Snowboarding is one of the coolest and fastest sports to watch.
Two disciplines, with a men’s and women’s competition, will be contested at these Games — the banked slalom and snowboard cross.
Para Snowboarding is only open to athletes with a physical impairment, with competitors placed in one of three classifications: SB UL, SB LL1 and SB LL2.
SB stands for Snowboard, while UL stands for Upper Limb; athletes in this category have impairments in one or both of their arms and rely on their torso and legs to help with balance and turns.
LL1 and 2 stands for Lower Limb; athletes in these categories have impairment in one or both of their legs, for example an amputee. LL2 athletes have a milder impairment compared to those in LL1 and therefore have more control over their balance and turns.
LL1 and LL2 athletes can use prosthetics or modified equipment to compete, if required.
Fun Fact: Para Snowboarding was first introduced to the Paralympics at Sochi in 2014, where Australian boarder, Ben Tudhope, made his debut. Twelve years later, Tudhope is still part of the snowboard team, competing in Milano Cortina.
Wheelchair Curling
So, you think curling at the Olympics looked tricky and strange, wait until you discover wheelchair curling in Milano Cortina.
Wheelchair curling is a sport for athletes with a physical impairment in their lower body, such as amputees, and people living with spinal injury and cerebral palsy.
There is only one class in the event, WC-E, which means wheelchair curling eligible.
Rules for wheelchair curling are the same as the Olympic discipline, with only one stand-out change — no sweeping the ice.
Instead, competitors launch the stone from a stationary wheelchair.
The teams are mixed gender, with athletes competing in either the wheelchair mixed doubles team or the wheelchair teams, which consist of four players in each team.
Games consist of eight ends, with the wheelchair mixed doubles teams delivering 5 stones each, every end, and the wheelchair teams delivering two stones each, every end.
Once all stones have been thrown, the end is complete and the winner is the team with a stone closest to the target.
Fun Fact: Canada is the only country to have medalled in wheelchair curling at every Games since its inception at the Paralympics in 2006.
Australia has named 14 athletes to the squad for the Winter Paralympics, one of its strongest and largest teams yet.
We have some veterans on the team, like snowboarder Ben Tudhope and alpine skier Michael Milton, alongside debutants Taryn Dickens, Dave Miln, and the youngest on the team, 16-year-old Liana France.
Two Summer Paralympians are also making their debut in the Winter squad, with 2024 Paralympic medallists, Amanda Reid, who won gold in cycling, and Lauren Parker, who also won gold in the cycling and triathlon, making selection for the team in snowboarding and cross-country, respectively.
Our most successful Winter Paralympics was in 2002, where six gold medals were claimed for Australia. Can we see the team equal or improve on this?
Channel Nine has exclusive rights for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, so the only place you can watch them will be on Nine or its subsidiary channels NineNow or Stan Sport online.
