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2010 Winter Paralympics torch relay

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IX Paralympic Winter Games
Host cityVancouver, Canada
Countries visitedCanada
Torch bearersMore than 600 approx.
Start dateMarch 3, 2010
End dateMarch 12, 2010
Torch designerLeo Obstbaum
BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Roberto Luongo at Robson Square on March 11, 2010.

The 2010 Winter Paralympics Torch Relay was a 10-day event leading up to the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver. It began on March 3, 2010, in Ottawa and concluded at the Games' opening ceremony on March 12. Held entirely within Canada, the host country, it has been described by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as "an important event to connect Canadians to the Games", by "demonstrating the fire inside each individual and how it inspires others".[1]

Route

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The Paralympic Flame was lit at a ceremony in Ottawa, with the participation of torchbearers representing each province and territory of Canada. Setting out from Ottawa, the Torch was due to be carried through Quebec City on March 4, Toronto on March 5, Esquimalt and Victoria on March 6, Squamish on March 7, Whistler on March 8, Lytton and Hope on March 9, before spending the final three days in Vancouver. On March 10, it was scheduled to visit Riley Park and Maple Ridge, then the campus of the University of British Columbia on the following day. On March 12, after being borne through downtown Vancouver, the Flame was to be taken to BC Place Stadium for the Games' opening ceremony.[2]

Celebration Communities

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The Organising Committee stated that "[t]his relay is distinct from typical relays as it will happen in and around the Celebration Communities".[1] A celebration ceremony will be organised at each stop of the relay, involving the community.

In Ottawa, the celebration was a Lighting Ceremony, during which "the local First Nations communities of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg" would light the Flame. The Torch would then travel to Parliament Hill. At the end of the day, it was to be extinguished, to be relit on March 4 by the local First Nations of its next stop.[3]

In Quebec City, celebrations were held on the campus of Laval University; in Toronto, on Nathan Phillips Square; and in Esquimalt, at the Archie Browning Sports Centre. The Flame was then to be taken to Victoria by water taxi and on an "Aboriginal traditional canoe", for celebrations at Ship Point (Victoria Inner Harbour). In Squamish, celebrations were slated to take place on Cleveland Avenue; in Whistler, at Whistler Village Square, after being carried, "on various modes of transport, such as skis and a snowboard", "to the peak of the Blackcomb Mountain and taken on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola to Whistler Mountain". In Lytton, celebrations "will take place on 4th street at Fraser", and in Hope, at Memorial Park, on Wallace Street. Finally, in Vancouver, they were organised to take place at Riley Park Community Centre, Spirit Square, the University of British Columbia and Robson Square.[2]

Torchbearers

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The Flame was scheduled to be borne by "approximately 600 torchbearers" including "Canadians from all walks of life" as well as athletes.[4]

The first bearer of the torch was single-leg amputee marathon runner Rick Ball, triple world record holder.[4]

Other torchbearers:

Quebec City, March 4

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  • Denis Laflamme; the Manager, governmental affairs and health policies for Pfizer Canada

Toronto, March 5

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  • Johannah Jackson, daughter of Robert Jackson, one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Paralympic Movement
  • Lane Sargeant, London Blizzard Sledge Hockey player, of London, Ontario
  • Tara Weber, television correspondent who uses a wheelchair.
  • Jody Mitic, Afghanistan veteran, former Ottawa MP.
  • Carl Ludwig, Mississauga Cruises Sledge Hockey player, of Mississauga, Ontario

Victoria, March 6

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  • Janet Dunn, Paralympic movement coach and rehabilitation volunteer for over 25 years

Squamish, March 7

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  • Blair McIntosh, Canadian Paralympic Committee 2010 Chef de Mission for Team Canada and Team Ontario

Whistler, March 8

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Vancouver, Hillcrest and Riley Park, March 10

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  • Jane Blaine, Executive Director for BC Blind Sports and Recreation Association and also the Executive Director/CEO for Canadian Blind Sports

Vancouver, University of British Columbia, March 11

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Vancouver, downtown, March 11 and 12

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  • Athena Cooper, Web Administrator and Designer at 2010 Legacies Now
  • Aiden McKee. contributor to book With Glowing Hearts
  • Terrie Moore, co-chair of the CPC Classification Task Force, Executive Director of SportAbility BC
  • Bianca Solterbeck, journalist with ShawTV
  • Walter Wu, partially blind Paralympic swimmer, Terry Fox Hall of Fame inductee
  • Eron Main, Secretary General of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, on the Board of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association
  • Tracey Keith, wife of Steven Keith, Director, Olympic Activation at Suncor Energy
  • Michelle Stilwell, Canadian Paralympian, wheelchair racing and wheelchair basketball
  • Senator Joyce Fairbairn, former Chair of "Friends of the Paralympics", chair of Canadian Paralympic Foundation
  • Ozzie Sawicki, founder and president of Pozitive Results Sport Strategies Inc. Head Coach and Program Director for the Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Team from 2000 to 2004, Head Coach of the Canadian Para-Athletics (Track and Field) Program with Athletics Canada, sits on Boards for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Coaches of Canada, the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation, and Coach Alberta
  • Jack Christie, sport journalist for the Georgia Straight
  • Lauren Barwick, Canadian Paralympian, para-dressage equestrian
  • Sonia Gaudet, Canadian Paralympian, wheelchair curling, ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation, CPC, VANOC
  • Cindy Crapper, record-setting track and field thrower, member of the International Day for People with Disabilities Celebration, BC Sport Group, BCRPA, City of Vancouver's Sport Strategy, Active Communities Initiatives, CAAWS; Women in Leadership and a member of the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association
  • Josh Vander Vies, Canadian boccia player, Athlete Council Representation on the Canadian Paralympic Committee Board of Directors
  • Elisabeth Walker-Young, four-time Paralympian, member of the Athlete and Coach Selection Committee for Para-swimming Swimming Canada, Classification Specialist for VANOC for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "2010 Paralympic Torch Relay" Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  2. ^ a b "2010 Paralympic Torch Relay: Daily Highlights" Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  3. ^ "Lighting Ceremony" Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  4. ^ a b "Torchbearers" Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "First Torchbearers" Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  6. ^ "March 4 - Quebec City" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  7. ^ "March 5 - Toronto" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 2)
  8. ^ a b "March 6 - Esquimalt and Victoria" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  9. ^ "March 8 - Whistler" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  10. ^ a b "March 9 - Lytton and Hope" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  11. ^ a b "March 10 - Vancouver (Riley Park) and Maple Ridge" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  12. ^ "March 11 - Vancouver (UBC)" Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)
  13. ^ "March 12 - 24-hour relay in Vancouver (downtown)" Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Vancouver 2010 official website (viewed on March 3)