Paralympic Games Open In Sochi

Team Canada entered Fisht Stadium today behind flag bearer Sonja Gaudet of the wheelchair curling team at the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games.

Canada’s Flag bearer calls Vernon home and has set her sights on bringing home Gold, in what will prove to be very exciting for her and the rest of the Canadian Athlete’s.

Prior to the event she stated the following to the media members.

“This was an extremely humbling and emotional experience for me….One that has confirmed yet again that sport has this incredible power to unite each other from all over the world and to look past the differences between us – gender, nationality, religion, ability. The ceremony was an incredibly magical production that left me thinking in my own little world for quite some time!

But it is game time now – time to do what we came here for and that is to compete at the sport of wheelchair curling!”

Moving from one sport to another Para-Snowboarder John Leslie from Arnprior told the onslaught of media “It was incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was absolutely amazing.

This is the first time I’ve walked in the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, it was insane how many people there were here. You walk out of the tunnel and people are screaming, and lights and colors and massive stadium, it was crazy. I am so happy, I am so stoked, I am just ready to go out and do the best that I can. This was incredible, amazing.

The national sledge team operates under the guidance of Hockey Canada and naturally everyone is asking “will the sledge hockey team bring home a Gold Medal?”

That is up to debate, depending on what Country you ask, but they do have a good chance of winning, just as everyone else has.

Captain of the National Sledge Hockey team Greg Westlake mentioned that the team got some support from some NHLers who played in Sochi and it was great to hear from them and he stated “I got a phone call from Shea Weber and Patrice Bergeron,” Westlake said.

“They were giving me some advice. Just telling me to go leave it all out and have no regrets, which is simple advice. But sometimes when you get to the Games, it’s so easy to get caught up…in all the hoopla around you.”

Aside from a blip at the Vancouver Paralympics, Canada has fared well in international sledge hockey competition. Team Canada is the reigning world champion in sledge hockey, taking the gold in 2013.

They also won gold at the 2006 Turin Games and four world sledge challenge titles from 2007 to 2011.