Paralympians need to hear Canadians cheer

The Sydney Morning Herald called it a moment of “national despair” for Canada when the men’s sledge hockey team lost 3-1 to Japan in the semifinals at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver. The heavily favoured Canadians outscored the opposition 19-1 in the round robin, but finished fourth overall.

Seven years later, Todd Nicholson sees Vancouver as a victory of a different kind in his new role as chef de mission for the 2018 Canadian Paralympic team.

“Yes, we weren’t successful on the ice as a hockey team in terms of we didn’t come home with a medal,” says Nicholson, who retired from the national team after the 2014 Games. “But every Canadian knew what Paralympic sport was from the winter side of things. I took home from those Games that I would never, ever have to explain what sledge hockey was again.”

With the next three Olympic and Paralympic Games in Asia, Nicholson is calling on Canadians to channel that passion from Vancouver to supporting the para-athletes in PyeongChang, Tokyo and Beijing.

“Yes, it is a totally different time zone and the other side of the world,” Nicholson says. “And we’re hopefully going to be able to capitalize on the opportunity for Canadians who are living in those nations to really support our athletes. But more importantly, we need our Canadians here back home to support our athletes. If there are some from your community, get to know them and really try to support them in any way you can.”

Thursday marks a year to the opening ceremony for the PyeongChang Paralympics. Early signs are encouraging: Canada reached the podium 11 times at the 2017 para-alpine world championships and seven times at the world para-Nordic championships.