Korean cheerleaders bring positive spirit to Paralympic competition

As warm-up to the Opening Ceremonies, male and female cheerleaders rallied the crowd to feel excited about the main event. During the lengthy parade of Paralympians, brightly colored cheer dancers welcomed athletes and coaches as they traveled the perimeter of Olympic Stadium. 

Prior to Men's and Women's Seated Cross-Country Skiing yesterday, cheerleaders and synchronized dancers from the Korean Army opened the event. Spectators enthusiastically greeted the cheerleaders who were not daunted by brisk 1 degree Celsius weather! (View video below)

My favorite spirited group of four appeared before and during the sledge hockey game between Team USA and Czech Republic on Monday, March 12. Nimble folk dancers with hand drums and colorful costumes delighted us during pre-game warm-up and then appeared each time a goal was scored by Team USA. 

According to TraditionsCustoms.com, "Pungmul (p'ungmul) is a traditional Korean music style. Each performance includes tens of dancers, drummers and singers. In the beginning pungmul was performed by farmers during everyday events or in shamanistic rites. Nowadays it can be seen at various public events like for example Incheon Bupyeong Pungmul Festival."   (View video below)

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) posted outstanding Paralympic highlights of 2017. View top 50 moments in the Paralympic Movement 

For instance, Moment 48 is the Growth of Female Para-Sport:

According to the IPC, "2017 saw the first women’s Para ice hockeytraining camp held, as well as a wheelchair basketballcamp for women in Asia and Oceania...The training camp held in October in Chuncheon, South Korea, brought together 30 athletes and coaches from around the world, not just to work on skills but also find ways to increase the number of women playing the sport. Participants came from Armenia, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA...

Erica Mitchell, captain of the USA women’s Para ice hockey team, said: “In 2007, I had tried out to the men’s USA team and find out I could not play at that level because I was a female. We had nowhere to go so we ended up making a women’s USA team...This is definitely one of the best camps I’ve ever been to, and it is definitely going to put us in the right direction.”

Source: www.paralympic.org