Paralympics

[Dhf]

I must say I thought the Pralypics was fantastic, and our Paralypians have done really well, I've enjoyed watching many of the events, and those blade runners are amazing, infact they all are, Well done to all I say!

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Dragonhawk ficht

I must say I thought the Pralypics was fantastic, and our Paralypians have done really well, I've enjoyed watching many of the events, and those blade runners are amazing, infact they all are, Well done to all I say!

Seconded

[jambo]

Originally Posted by kerny

Seconded

+1 from me in all aspects

Sent from my iPhone using Rib.net

[Rokraider]

I thought the Paralympics was more interesting than the main event to be honest. The show that was on after the coverage each day "The Last Leg" was brilliant and deserves an award, in my opinion. What really came through is the humour and spirit of these Olympians.

[Nasher]

As a family we enjoyed it far more than we expected, and in many ways more than the normal ones.

The Able bodied athletes go through so much to compete, but these guys

I’m pleased everybody has got behind them and treated them with the respect and admiration they deserve.

The next question is going to be who’s up for sports personality of the year?
Will Wiggins, Ennis, Pendleton etc be overshadowed by Weir, Peacock, Simmonds etc.

Nasher.

[HughN]

I watched some of the Paralympic Equestrian events but I couldn't see that any of the horses were 'less physically advantaged' in any way - I certainly didn't see one using a carbon-fibre 'blade or a wheelchair.

Tanni Grey-Thompson was in my hall at university. She once overtook me in her wheelchair when I was on a push-bike...

[PeterM]

Just superb ...I found myself shouting at the screen more for the paralympics then the olympics.

For me it was about proper competitive sport - and for me the paralympics held more of the 'drive to win' than the olympics.

As for sports personality -a hard one ....can we have Alex Zanardi ? (ignore he is not british) ... hard to judge the personality of a lot , but have to say I loved the emotion in Jody Cundys 'outburst'...and fair play to him ...

[Anchorhandler]

I found it good but was a bit perplexed as to how each persons disability was 'categorised' in order to ensure a level playing field....

It must have been difficult deciding which disability was more or less disabling than other disabilities.

For example, some of the athletic running events featured athletes using one normal leg and one blade competing against athletes having to do the same event with two blades.

Same goes for athletes that are 'poor' sighted....

Must have been a bit of a minefield....

Simon

Sent from my iPhone using Rib.net

[Dhf]

[QUOTE=Anchorhandler;486801]I found it good but was a bit perplexed as to how each persons disability was 'categorised' in order to ensure a level playing field....

It must have been difficult deciding which disability was more or less disabling than other disabilities.

For example, some of the athletic running events featured athletes using one normal leg and one blade competing against athletes having to do the same event with two blades.

Same goes for athletes that are 'poor' sighted....

Must have been a bit of a minefield....

Simon


Very true,


I'm truly touched with all replies to this thread, and the support and interest shown with the Paralypics.
As a visitor to Stoke mandeville's inter spinal games many years ago, and being a C6 tetra 90% wheelchair user myself ,I've seen how hard these guy's train for the big events, and their determination to overcome thier disabilities and the effort they put in is something else. considering most have faced total despair and generally been to hell and back, they have fought back relentlessly to achieve there goal's in life.
I was very reluctant to start this thread, bit unsure of able bodied responces, and being personaly judged of ability at sea when that disabled word is mentioned, but now many of you have seen for yourselves what can be achieved, I think many eye's will be opened. thank you!!

ps. The thought of a disabled horse in a wheelchair...imagine
although I have seen a disabled dog with rear wheels fitted.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Anchorhandler

I found it good but was a bit perplexed as to how each persons disability was 'categorised' in order to ensure a level playing field....

It must have been difficult deciding which disability was more or less disabling than other disabilities.

For example, some of the athletic running events featured athletes using one normal leg and one blade competing against athletes having to do the same event with two blades.

Same goes for athletes that are 'poor' sighted....

Must have been a bit of a minefield....

Simon

Sent from my iPhone using Rib.net

simon - I found this page helped a lot to decipher the coding system: BBC SPORT | Other sport... | Paralympics | A-Z of Paralympic classification

[Anchorhandler]

Originally Posted by Poly

simon - I found this page helped a lot to decipher the coding system: BBC SPORT | Other sport... | Paralympics | A-Z of Paralympic classification

Thanks Poly, yes that does shed quite a bit of light on how the "infrastructure" was set up.

I would bet that many people simply don't realise how much work has gone into building a system that is both fair and practical for all involved.

I guessed that there would be sub-categories defining the level of "disablement" but never appreciated just how many there was.

Simon

[Bern Hanreck]

Poly's link is not totally comprehensive !

In wheelchair rugby , both men & women may compete against eachother in mixed sex teams . As I understand it , women are automatically graded at 0.5 below any male with a similar physical handicap . Is that real equality or is it just sexist ? Just wondering like !

Agree with all the sentiments expressed though

[Dhf]

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

Poly's link is not totally comprehensive !

In wheelchair rugby , both men & women may compete against eachother in mixed sex teams . As I understand it , women are automatically graded at 0.5 below any male with a similar physical handicap . Is that real equality or is it just sexist ? Just wondering like !

Agree with all the sentiments expressed though

Your right that link only sratches the surface of the complexity of different disabilities, but gives a very basic idea for those with no knowledge of disability.
Wheelchair rugby is a perfect example, with many different ability levels, developed mainly for quad and tetraplegics, so usually broken neck to qualify, which can mean anything from 4 limbs being partially paralysed, or just 2 limbs partially or completely and the list goes on, and yes the ladies are counted 0.5 under per lady, with a max of 4 players totaling 8 points on court. with a max of 3.5 per person which means good upper body strength, to 0.5 per person with less ability.
The idea of these games is to give an opportunity for all levels of disability to take part, there is still a qualifing level that competitors take part in like the stoke Mandeville games.
There are so many different disabilities. and I think the parylimpics gives hope to those newly effected with disability.
As for best personality I think they all done very well.

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Nasher

As a family we enjoyed it far more than we expected, and in many ways more than the normal ones.

The Able bodied athletes go through so much to compete, but these guys

I’m pleased everybody has got behind them and treated them with the respect and admiration they deserve.

The next question is going to be who’s up for sports personality of the year?
Will Wiggins, Ennis, Pendleton etc be overshadowed by Weir, Peacock, Simmonds etc.

Nasher.

I think that sums it up very well for us too - We enjoyed both parts of the Olympics and it would be hard to separate them in terms of enjoyment - didn't the whole of team GB do extremely well!