Winter Olympics, 2014, Sochi,Russia

Hello everyone. It has been awhile since I have posted anything as I did not seem to have anything exciting to talk about. No that is not true There a lot of things of exciting and wonderful things. I guess I was just to lazy to do it. I do want to make a few comments about the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics from Sochi, Russia which have just receently concluded. I hope you were able to watch some of the events. I previously mentioned that I, for once, got to watch as much of the winter Olympics as I wanted because I was recovering from a hernia surgery. I love all sports and although I have never participated in winter sports I never the less enjoy watching. I know from personal experience having participated in sports at the college level on scholarship the amount of work and dedication that is required and I applaud these marvelous athletes for their dedication to their sport. In particular I applaud the Paralympics athletes, coaches, trainers and guides. Also, to be applauded are many professional teams and major corporations who support these athletes in so many different ways.

First of all you have the cross country skiers who have impairments ranging from a missing arm, legs or combinations of limbs. There are several categories of impairments. For example persons confined to a wheel chair will use a chair like apparatus sitting on skis and he will use poles just like anyone else. Normally skiers start about 30 second apart. Then there are those who are visually impaired whose impairments range from being almost totally blind to various stages of partial sight if only a few feet or those who can‘t see in front of themselves and can only see a small amount to the side. Finally there are the guides who ski with the visually impaired. These individuals have to be outstanding athletes themselves so as to be able to either keep up with their athlete or stay in front enough so as to not impede their athlete. It was amazing to see how the guides worked with their athlete. In some instances they skied in back of their athlete but in most instances they were in front of them. They were constantly turning around talking to their athlete telling them what was coming up for example a sharp curve, a uphill or a downhill stretch.  On some of the sharp curves the athlete would reach out and hold onto the guides ski pole which he would extend in back of himself and the athlete would hold onto it to help him maneuver around the curve. Because each skier has a guide no more than six skiers ski at a time. These are amazing individuals.

When you look at the athletes many of them are former military personnel who were wounded in action. One members is currently on active duty with the U. S. Army. But, there were a number of civilians whose impairment was caused by accident or natural causes or disease. Their ages ranged from 15 years old to over 40. The youngest was an individual playing ice sled hockey who is pictured later.

I love ice hockey but I especially enjoyed the ice sled hockey. These players had both arms but had no legs at all or various combinations of legs or part of legs missing. They sit on a  seat that is affixed to a single skate that has two blades a small distance apart. There is a frame that extend out in front of them to which their leg(s) are strapped. They have a short stick blade with which to strike the puck and the other end of this stick is used to help propel them along the ice. The second stick is used to help propel them. It is amazing the speed they can generate. They can plow into each at speeds up to 30 miles an hour. Depending on how they plow into the opponent it may be called a foul ( it is called T- Boning a player ). In the championship game the USA defeated the Russians 1 to 0 to earn the Gold Medal. This was the first time a team has won gold in back to back Paralympics. This team was under pressure since both the regular USA men's and women's ice hockey teams did not win gold. Considering the Russians have only been playing ice sled hockey for four years it is surprising they were able to make it to the championship game. I would say they are a force to recon with in the next Paralympics.

There is a tremendous “ Ice Warrior documentary on Team USA Sled Hockey " which can be found on PBS  and I strongly recommend you watch it. The following are a few photographs taken from the PBS web site. Check it out to learn more about Ice Sled Hockey and the players. You can also buy a DVD about the USA Team which won the gold medal 2 Olympics in a row. Go USA.

                                                       The Sled


                                                  The Stick

This end of the stick has metal points that dig into the ice to help propel the skater and help him maneuver. The other end has a blade for hitting the puck. If the officials sees a player hitting the opponent with the sharp points a foul is called. It looks like that end could cause some damage.
                                                       The Goalie Stick
The goalie only has one stick. You can see the small sharp points near the handle that  help the goalie maneuver around the goal. The goalie's glove has small points or spikes in them to help him move around in front of the goal.

This Is Brody Roybal Who Was 15 Years Old And A Sophomore In High School. He was born a congenital bilateral amputee as he does not have a femur in either leg. He plans to attend college and study finance. It is amazing how they keep their balance and right themselves when they are knocked over.

 Competition Is Fierce. Here the USA Is In A Game With Canada

  
I stand in amazement at these athletes considering the situation they have to deal with and I whine a little about having to recover from hernia surgery. The next time you see a person with some sort of impairment take a moment to consider how fortunate you are not to be in the same if not worse condition I know I will.

Remember as I always say God loves you and so do I.

Thankful to be alive, well and living in a free country like the USA..

Grandpa Bill