Opening ceremonies were last night. The symbolism of this evening is reflected in all members of delegations from athletes to support staff. It really means we "get down to business". There was a lot of fanfare about the Pan Am opening ceremonies which are much bigger. This event was on a smaller scale and was not as well promoted. It was not in a huge stadium as the expected interest and sales of tickets would likely not been as grand as for the Pan Ams. I was still disappointed in the small crowd. They were all energetic and cheered our Canadian athletes marching in but there were so many empty seats in an already small venue that it took away some of the excitement. We had tried to buy extra tickets but were told it was sold out. The media this morning are saying the event was sold out....who didn't show up? It was exciting to march in alongside the Canadian athletes and get the cheers and crowd energy directed at us. It was also fun to see my family in the crowd!
They had selected important pillars and champions of the Paralympic sport movement and well known Canadian athletes to carry the Americas Paralympic Committee flag in the stadium and recognizable decorated athletes to carry the torch and finally Rick Hansen handed it to Chantal Petitclerc to light the emblematic torch in the Stadium.
Now I head to cover our athletes in competition: this morning help at the cycling road race, then to football 7s, then to an evening of WC basketball!
 |
| Our Chef de Mission, Elizabeth Walker-Young and Assistant Chef Stephanie Dixon Both are multi medallists as Paralympic swimmers |
 |
| Canadians following our Flag Bearer Marco Dispaltro who made his mark in wheelchair rugby, Wheelchair tennis and now is the one to beat in Boccia |
 |
| In a sea of red, looking at ourselves on the jumbotron as we march in. |
 |
| The show celebrated the many cultural ethnicities that compose the Canadian population |
No comments:
Post a Comment