I quite enjoyed the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Seeing Canadian athletes take home 25 medals, including 10 gold medals, made me proud to call myself a Canadian.
It has been a few weeks since the entire country watched the Canadian men's hockey team take down Sweden 3-0 on the final day of the Olympics to win gold. While the break has been nice, I've kind of missed the action.
This is why it was great to see Paralympics coverage hit TV and computer screens this past weekend. March 7 saw the Opening Ceremonies officially kick off the Paralympics, where Canada has approximately 50 athletes competing in six different events (para-alpine skiing, biathlon, para-Nordic skiing, sledge hockey, wheelchair curling and para-snowboard).
There is always an interesting debate around the Paralympics. There are those who say it doesn't get enough media coverage and those, including myself, who feel the coverage would be there if the audience proved it really wanted it.
The sad thing is, not too many people take the time to follow the Paralympic Games. The majority of those people who were glued to their TVs watching Olympic hockey, curling, skiing and snowboarding don't show the same enthusiasm for the Paralympics. And I'm really not sure why.
Sure, Olympic and Paralympic events don't really compare, but they are not supposed to. Comparing Olympic hockey to sledge hockey just doesn't make sense. You have to take them for what they are.
The Olympics were created to give amateurs athletes all over the world a grand stage to show off their athletic skills and talents. Even though Paralympic athletes don't compare on a direct physical level to Olympic athletes, they are still extremely skilled and all are the best at what they do.
It takes skill to be a top-notch sledge hockey player, a wheelchair curler or a Paralympic skier or snowboarder. Just like Olympians, Paralympians spend thousands of hours training and practicing their craft in order to be as good as they are.
When you think about it, there really isn't much of a difference between Olympic and Paralympic athletes other than they way the athletes and their sports are treated and viewed by the public.
These are athletes representing their country at the highest level of their sport possible. They are still all competing for medals, and have put the same, if not more, time and effort in to be were they are.
From March 7 to 16, CBC will be providing 90 hours of fully accessible TV broadcasts and more than 250 hours of online coverage of the Paralympics Winter games.
I urge all of you to take some time, sit down and watch an event. After all, they are still Canadian athletes competing to win medals and make their country proud.
