The 2006 Torino Paralympic Winter Games

Sestriere, Italy and the Italian Alps

I moved up to Sestriere, Italy on March 2nd. I was so excited to be in the mountains, which definitely reminds me of Colorado. The weather over the past two weeks has been absolutely gorgeous. Of course, we have had our days and evenings where the snow was falling, but you can't beat the bright blue skies and sunshine that has blessed the mountain events at the Paralympic Games.

The Opening Ceremonies were on March 10 in Torino at the same stadium that the Olympic Ceremonies were in. The ceremony was great. It was awesome to see every country walk in. My favorite part qas when the torch that was run into the stadium was passed from one member of each country to another so that it felt as though each country lit the torch. Unfortunately, none of my digital photos turned out very well. Hopefully, my disposable camera photos will be better. However, a big thanks to Nick Webborn for these Ceremony photos.
















It has been a lot of fun up in the moutains. With the smaller village, it has a much more intimate feeling than it does down in Torino. I've gotten to see some events since I've been up here as well. The Alpine Skiing Venue is not very far and I went and watched twice. It's absolutely amazing how the athetes can cruise down the mountain in either a sit ski, on one leg or blind at 50 + miles per hour. Unbelieveable. Again, thanks to Nick Webborn for some of these photos.

Alpine Skiing Finish Line





















These photos are from Salt Lake, but they give a general idea of the athletes that are coming down the hill at top speeds.














On my "day off" (March 12), I went to Torino with our two Lawyers, Graham and Sarah. They are both from London. We had a wonderful day just walking arond the city, sitting at cafes drinking wine or coffee and eating pizza. (Pizza is so good in this country). At the end of the day, Sarah and I went to the Ice Sledge Hockey Game where the USA was playing Japan. We won 3-0. However, the USA lost in the Semi Final Match and will be playing for a Bronze medal on Saturday. These pictures are some random photos of some ice sledge hockey games.
















The other day, Andy, my "boss", told me that I was to go skiing the next afternoon. It was great. The slopes here are little more difficult than I am I used to, but I was able to get down the mountain. It took me awhile on a few of the runs, but I made it and had a great time. The Italian Alps, although mountains, have a different "mystery" to them than the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.


Overall, my job has not yet been too stressful. It has been great working with all of our committee members and getting to meet the folks from the different National Paralympic Committees from around the world that I only know by email. I am learning something new everyday about Paralympics, which has added something special to my first Paralympic experience.