ParapanAm Experience: Toronto 2015: We're all done

With Janet McLachlan

Core medical team: Darrell Menard, Dawn Haworth, me, Christina Grace and Andrew Marshall

Closing Ceremonies are very different than Opening Ceremonies. The energy is more party atmosphere than protocol and flag raising. There is a short moment when dignitaries thank everyone and comment they were "the best Games ever", lower the Games flag and Toronto's mayor hands it to Lima's mayor for the next Games in 2019 in Peru. Then the entertainment begins. They had Wyclef Jean, a well known entertainer (...I didn't know him) got the athletes bouncing around to great music. The energy carried over to the Village where the organizers had a setup to keep the dancing and petting going. It's pretty hard to get over a thousand athletes from the Americas to not get into dancing and partying. With all the cultures mixed together it only got better.
It took some time to get things really going as many, if not most, stopped at the dining hall and likely many stopped at some drinking places outside the Village before getting to the gathering. I decided not to stay up and wait for it and called it a night around midnight. I think the music kept going past 4 in the morning.

The men's basketball team met their match when facing the US yesterday. What was touted as a tight battle become a routing when our Canadian athletes couldn't seem to get anything going and our shots were missing the mark while it seemed the americans couldn't miss. Disappointing ending but, as for the women's team, a step on the road for Brazil for Rio next year.

Silver medal

Women's WC basketball team

So it's all goodbyes and "see you later" to everyone as we finish taping up our stock and equipment then I head home with Darlene and the kids this morning.

Home at last. Only a little over 2 weeks but it always seems we've been in this for much longer. Being involved in major Games like this is a fantastic experience. Experiencing sport is only part of it. Meeting great athletes and people is a major part of it. The athletes can show us that it's not what is thrown at you but what you do with it that is important. As many keep saying : "See you all in Rio".