Paralympic Media Coverage!

In a few days, 600 athletes from 40 countries will begin competition in 5 winter Paralympic sports. The Paralympics always follow the Olympics in the same venue. The Olympics get lots of TV coverage, the Paralympics follow almost unnoticed in mainstream media.

One of the reasons I started this blog is because there is so little media coverage of adaptive recreation and sports on all levels - even the most elite athletes in disabled sports are often little known outside the disable sports world. Nonetheless, the Paralympics will get some television coverage this month, and while TV pales in comparison, the internet offers more options now than ever.

NBC Sports and Universal Sports just announced their coverage this week. NBC will recap the opening ceremony for one hour on Saturday March 13 from 1-2pm ET. After the Games are over, on Saturday, April 10 from 3-5pm ET highlights from all sports will be shown.

UniversalSports will show 2 hours of coverage nightly at 6pm and 11pm ET starting Monday, March 15 through Tuesday, March 23. There will also be on demand selections, including entire event "rewinds" on UniversalSports.com.

You can also check out daily updates and videos at http://www.usparalympics.org/, the Team USA website, and http://www.paralympicsport.tv/.

Along with the outdoor competition of downhill skiing, nordic skiing, and biathlon, be sure to watch get a view of the indoor sports - sled hockey and wheelchair curling, both growing sports.

I found curling fascinating in the Winter Olympics. In wheelchair curling, there is no sweeping and a throwing stick is used to send the stone down the ice. It is quite the mesmerizing game of skill and strategy and Canada is the team to beat this time.

Team USA will attempt to reclaim the gold in sled hockey, after winning gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, then being unable to follow suit in Torino in 2006. Sled hockey has been an official Paralympic sport since 1994 so more teams have had a chance to develop their competitive edge. Its fast and furious, so don't miss out!