Canadian Paralympic Committee celebrates 2013 International Day of Persons with Disabilities - Activities continue to build awareness from playground to podium

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2013 /CNW/ - With less than 100 days to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee is pleased to celebrate the 2013 International Day of Persons with Disabilities today with ongoing initiatives to build awareness of parasport, from playground to podium.

"This is an exciting time to be involved in Canadian Paralympic sport," said Gaétan Tardif, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "Every child has the right to take part in sport and live an active lifestyle. Sport not only builds great athletes, it builds great people. With our goals of expanding awareness, recruiting participants, and being a world leader, Canada faces great opportunities in Sochi and beyond. I invite all Canadians to get involved and get to know our athletes through our activities here in Canada, as well as during the Games broadcast from Sochi."

Reaching out to Schools and Communities

• Parasport Festival: Mississauga, Ontario's Hershey Centre hosts a Parasport Festival today from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Mississauga's Hershey SportZone, 5600 Rose Cherry Place, Mississauga, Ont. Everyone is invited to play parasports and meet London 2012 Paralympians David Willsie and Garett Hickling (wheelchair rugby silver medallists) and Whitney Bogart and Amy Kneebone (goalball). For more information, please visit www.paralympic.ca/getinvolved
• Paralympic Schools Week: Schools across Canada have until Dec. 20 to register to be entered into a draw to win 1 of 25 free athlete appearances to have a Paralympic athlete speak to their students. All schools that register will receive a complimentary Paralympic Schools Resource Pack. Paralympic Schools Week will be held Feb. 24 to March 7, 2014 - during the 12 days between the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more information, please visit www.paralympic.ca/schoolsweek

Building excitement towards Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

• Sochi Team Announcements: Preparation for Sochi continues with the wheelchair curlers to be the first athletes nominated for the Sochi 2014 Canadian Paralympic Team, in Winnipeg on Friday December 6, at 12:30 p.m. in the upper press box of MTS Centre, 300 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, Man. Upcoming team nomination announcement events include sledge hockey on Jan. 18, para-alpine skiing on Jan. 21 and para-snowboard on Jan. 26.
• Canada's National Sledge Hockey Team competes all this week at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge from Dec. 1 to 7, hosting Russia, Japan and the U.S.

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 7 to 16, 2014. With a goal of placing in the top three nations in the gold medal count, Canada will send 50 athletes to compete in sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, para-Nordic skiing, biathlon, para-alpine skiing and para-snowboard.

On Nov. 27, with 100 days to go to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) unveiled an unprecedented, fully accessible broadcast and electronic media plans for the most comprehensive coverage ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games - more than 65 hours of broadcast, up to 350 hours of digital streaming, and rights free news access highlights connecting Canadians via multi platforms. CPC will lead the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium partners in creating coverage on five broadcast/digital platforms: CBC/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Yahoo Sports Canada and SendtoNews.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca

SOURCE: Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)