Thursday marks only 365 days until the start of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. From 9-18 March next year, PyeongChang will welcome more than 600 athletes from 50 countries to compete in 80 events across six sports in four competition venues.
To give the Korean public a taster of what’s to come next year, there are a number of test events taking place in PyeongChang throughout March and April.
The World Wheelchair Curling Championships are currently being held at the Gangneung Curling Centre (4-11 March); the World Para Snowboard World Cup Finals are being held at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre (10-13 March) and the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre (10-15 March). The World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals get under way on Saturday (11-18 March) at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre, and in April we can look forward to the World Para Ice Hockey Championships at the Gangneung Hockey Centre (11-20 April), where the top five teams will gain their automatic qualification into the Paralympic Winter Games.
Entry into all para sport test events are free and tickets for the Paralympic Winter Games will go on sale later in the year.
A major goal of the Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang is to help enhance public awareness across Korea about Para sports, and opportunities in sport for people with an impairment. The aim is to create a truly accessible Games for everyone involved, and the hope is that this can turn into a legacy for more people in Korea to have opportunities to take part in Para sports, and grow the number of participants across all ages and disabilities.
One of the big projects for POCOG, as part of their winning bid, has been the ‘Actualising the Dream Project’. This began in 2014 and aims to develop winter sports in Korea and raise disability awareness.
They are doing this in a number of ways, which includes hosting international events; expanding the athlete pool by providing sports equipment; running educational programmes for schools, and enhancing communications and policy development around para sports.
Preparations for the Games are on track. The four competition venues are also Olympic venues, but will be transformed and adjusted as required to suit the needs of the athletes, officials and spectators. The athlete’s village will also be used and will be fully accessible, as will a number of rooms in the Paralympic Family hotel.
Transport will be adapted and in cooperation with the governments, host and venue cities, there is a wider plan to work to improve facilities, including accommodation, restaurants and tourist spots to create a barrier-free tourist city as part of the Games legacy.
POCOG President Lee Hee-beom said: ‘With one year to go, POCOG will continue to strive to create a sustainable Paralympic Games that contributes to peace, culture, the economy, and the environment, as well as the promotion of the Paralympic values. POCOG will do its best to deliver a most memorable and athlete-focused Games for all NPC delegations in Paralympic history.’
Earlier this month, POCOG welcomed more than 90 delegates from the National Paralympic Committees for the Chef de Mission seminar to get updates on planning and preparations, and also had the chance to visit some of the venues. The feedback was very positive and now the organising committee has 12 months to put the finishing touches to the preparations, as they look to create a Games that brings people together.
PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Games serves as the perfect opportunity for people with and without impairment to forge a bond through sports and it’s going to have a fantastic party atmosphere with ten days of celebration both on and off the competition fields of play.
Picture of fans pose with Bandabi, mascot for the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, during the Audi FIS Ski World Cup 2017 Ladies’ Downhill at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre on March 4, 2017 in Jeongseon-gun, South Korea courtesy of Getty Images