The second-largest international sporting event in the world is coming to the Sea to Sky Corridor, starting tomorrow, with more than 1,300 athletes from 40 countries and countless international media coming to compete for glory right in our own backyard.
So why aren't we more excited?
Because that event, the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, was immediately preceded by the largest international sporting event - the Olympics, with more than double the athletes and many times more media, sponsors and spectators.
It's all a matter of scale. The more than 500 very enthusiastic and supportive people showing their Paralympic pride in downtown Squamish for the Paralympic Torch Relay would normally be considered a once-in-a-lifetime feat - except for the fact that more than 8,000 people came out for the corresponding event for the Olympics just a few weeks before.
Simply put, the Paralympics are taking the stage while Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Corridor suffer through what can best be called an Olympic hangover.
Which begs the question: should the Paralympics come out from under the Olympic shadow?
Originally the Paralympics were a completely separate event - the Stoke-Mandeville Games, created in 1948 for athletes disabled duing the Second World War, become incorporated into the Olympic movement starting in 1960 for the Summer Games and 1976 for the Winter Games, were held in different cities from the Olympics until 1992, making these the first Winter Paralympic Games on Canadian soil.
Overall, integration has been more beneficial in terms of media attention - VANOC has made immense strides to highlight the Paralympic Games and put them on the same stage as the Olympics. But international sponsorship, media attention and spectator interest is simply not the same in the hangover period. Now, instead of being ignored, the Paralympics are being overshadowed.
And that's a shame. The stories of Olympic glory and national pride are there in the Paralympics - in fact, they're often more poignant, as literally every single athlete has, by definition, overcome personal adversity to compete at a high level. And in an era where our most celebrated Olympic heroes also happen to be multi-millionaire professional players, the Paralympics maintain the purity of amateur athletic competition that Baron Pierre de Coubertin envisioned for the Olympics more than 100 years ago.
Perhaps the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee can look at either having the Paralympics precede the Olympics instead of following them, or even fully integrate the two events - although we recognize the logistical challenges of making a 17-day extravaganza into a 27-day marathon.
And what can we as Canadians do with our opportunity right now? Let's show the world that the Paralympics can be just as good a party. Let's honour these amazing athletes who have come so far against the odds.
Let's keep the spirit going.
-Tim Shoults
