What Do You Know About Paralympic Winter Sports?

From NBColympics.com, Winter Paralympic Games will occur in PyeongChang, South Korea in March 2018. Nearly 700 athletes will compete in six sports and be classified according to level of disability, including arm, leg and visual impairments.

Para Alpine Skiing features downhill, slalom and super-G events. Watch for Andrew Kurka, Danelle Umstead and Thomas Walsh on Team USA. Para Biathalon combines cross-country skiing with shooting. Keep your eyes on Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike for Team USA.

Paralympic skier Allison Jones

Para Cross-Country Skiing requires dexterity on a course. Para Ice Hockey, also known as sled hockey, features modified frames on hockey blades.

Para Snowboard will make its inaugural debut as its own discipline. Watch for Team USA members Amy Purdy, Evan Strong and Mike Schultz. Wheelchair Curling features co-ed teams, who throw a special stone by hand or with a stick, aiming to reach the center of a target.

Canadian Sledge Hockey Player, photos.newswire.ca

PyeongChang 2018 Mobile App is launched

The PyeongChang Olympic Organizing Committee launched a comprehensive mobile app for visitors and sports fans. Content is organized according to categories: VENUES, CULTURE, TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC and SPECTATOR FAQs. Information about free download for Android or iOS.

Other social media connections, save PyeongChang 2018 Event page on your Facebook account. Include the hashtag #PyeongChang2018
Spread the excitement across the Globe!'

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

The Fragrance of Spring - South Korean Performers in Alabama

"The Fragrance of Spring," a delightful performance was presented tonight at the historic Davis Theatre on the campus of Troy State University - Montgomery.  Sena Son, Director of Comprehensive Arts for AKEEP (Alabama - Korea Education and Economic Partnership) planned a "beautiful blend of Korean and Western musical instruments, traditional Korean Dance and Opera storytelling known as Pansori."

The story was inspired by The Tale of Chun-Hyang, a musical love story from the Joseon Dynasty, popular in Korea. The multidisciplinary performers traveled from the Republic of Korea to share their art and culture with Americans. The conclusion featured a happy celebration with audience members recruited to dance on stage!

A second performance is scheduled for January 22 at 6:00 p.m. at the Opelika Center for Performing Arts.

North and South Korea Exemplify Olympic Spirit!

From Lausanne, Switzerland -- IOC officials met with delegations representing North and South Korea. IOC President Thomas Bach announced today that athletes from both Nations will jointly participate in the 2018 Winter Games. Athletes from the two Koreas will march together under a Korean unification flag during Opening Ceremonies next month. 

Korean athletes and unification flag

Bach said the IOC had been working for several years to address the "special situation" of having the 2018 Winter Olympics on the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korean athletes will jointly compete as a "Korean" Women's Ice Hockey team represented by the unification flag. In addition, North Korean athletes will compete in five sports, i.e., ice hockey, figure skating, short track speedskating, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.

Source: CNN.com

2017-18 World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup

Reposted from www.paralympic.org

The 2017-18 season is a pivotal one for Para Nordic skiers, with all events acting as qualification and preparation for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

Three World Cups featuring both biathlon and cross-country races will take place in this Paralympic year across two continents.

The season spans three months, beginning in Canmore, Canada, with the first World Cup from 9-17 December.

Skiers return to action in Europe in 2018, with the second World Cup in Oberried, Germany from 20-28 January, before the final event of the season at Vuokatti, Finland, from 2-10 February.

Those who qualify for the Winter Games will then have one month off before the action kicks off in PyeongChang.

World Cup champions out to defend their titles this season include Germany’s Martin Fleig and Ukraine’s Iurii Utkin in biathlon, and Austria’s Carina Edlinger and Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova

How does one become a paralympian? Watch Oksana Masters share her story

Are you ready for winter time in South Korea?

Getting ready for my volunteer role in PyeongChang; enjoying brisk winter hikes on Red Mountain (AL). It felt great to return to the trails atop Red Mountain! Who minds a few snow flurries?