Kojin Nakakita, coach of the Japan Ice Sledge Hockey Team receives the Paralympic Award for Best Team during the 2011 Paralympic Awards Gala in Beijing, China © • IPC

The Japanese Ice Sledge Hockey team was not expected to win silver at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

In fact, the squad was not expected to medal at all.

Thus, Japan’s surprise performance on the international stage was more than enough to garner itself the Best Team title for the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) 2011 Paralympic Sport Awards.

The award, proudly partnered by Allianz, was presented to head coach Kojin Nakakita on behalf of the entire team during the Paralympic Awards Gala on 10 December in the Intercontinental Hotel ballroom in Beijing, China.

Japan beat out four other finalists for the award: Canada’s Wheelchair Curling team, USA’s Ice Sledge Hockey team, and Russia’s Cross-Country Skiing Relay men’s and women’s teams.

“It is a big honour to win this award,” said defenseman Takayuki Endo, who was astonished to find out his team won.

Japan made the finals at Vancouver 2010 after shocking host nation and favourite Canada, 3-1, in the semi-finals. Although Japan eventually fell to USA in the finals, its performance in Vancouver was exceptional for a nation that fielded a Paralympic Games team for the first time in just 1998.

As captain, Endo led the team with four scores, an assist and 20 shots on goal in five games, while forward Daisuke Uehara anchored a strong front line with two scores, three assists and 11 shots on goal. Mitsuru Nagase took care of the net, allowing just nine total goals and racking up 62 saves.

Keep in mind that only about 50 people in Japan – which has a population of 127 million – play Ice Sledge Hockey. Then compare that to a country such as Canada that fields nearly 1,000 players from a population of about 34.4 million.

Now that Japan has earned its spot toward the top of the food chain in the Ice Sledge Hockey world, it is continuing to enter more and more international tournaments alongside perennial contenders Canada, USA and Norway.

“It is good to enter competitions against them,” Japan forward Yoshikawa Mamoru said. “It is good to build the team up for the future.”

Oleksandra Kononova competing at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games © • Getty Images Oleksandra Kononova celebrating her gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games © • Getty Images

At the young age of 19, Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova put on a stellar performance at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, winning gold medals in the 12.5km Standing Biathlon and 5km and Sprint Classic Cross-Country Skiing events.

She also picked up a silver in the 3x2.5km Cross-Country Skiing race.

In honour of a performance that nobody anticipated, Kononova was awarded the title of Best Paralympic Games Debut for the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) 2011 Paralympic Sport Awards, which are proudly partnered by Allianz, the IPC’s international partner.

The Ukranian beat three other finalists for the award: Russian biathlete and cross-country skier Maria Iovleva; American Ice Sledge Hockey player Nikko Landeros; and Swedish visually impaired cross-country skier Zebastian Modin.

“It was my debut, and I was ready for everything,” Kononova said of her Vancouver 2010 performance. “I really hoped to get at least one gold medal.”

The award was given to the athlete that stood out the most in his or her first-ever Paralympic Games at Vancouver 2010.

It was presented during the Paralympic Awards Gala on 10 December in the Intercontinental Hotel ballroom in Beijing, China. Kononova was not in attendance, as she is awaiting the arrival of her new daughter.

“Despite the fact that my family is about to have a (baby), and I know that it will be a girl, I’m not going to break away from the training process for a long time and of course will be actively preparing for Sochi 2014,” Kononova said.

“This is a great incentive for me before Paralympic Games in Sochi.”

Kononova was infected with osteomyelitis – a bone marrow infection – as an infant, leaving her right hand shorter than her left one. But she has been participating in Ukrainian skiing cups since she was 14 and has not let anything stop her.

Despite having problems with her hand co-ordination once in a while, it does not compensate her will to win, as she said she wants her achievements to be an inspiration to all people with an impairment both in Ukraine and around the world.

“This award is extremely important for me and for the Paralympic Committee of Ukraine because it opens the door to the world of people with disabilities, who, unfortunately, still don’t have an easy access to physical culture and sport – and very often are found within the four walls of their apartment,” Kononova said.

Christian Egli receiving the Paralympic Award for Best Official from IPC Governing Board Member Rita van Driel during the 2011 Paralympic Awards Gala in Beijing, China © • IPC

Christian Egli of Switzerland was honoured for all of his behind-the-scenes work at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games on Saturday (10 December), when he won the Exemplary Paralympic Games Official award at the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) 2011 Paralympic Sport Awards gala in Beijing, China.

The award is proudly partnered by the IPC’s international partner, Allianz, and Egli beat out four other finalists for it: Markus Walser (Canada), Hans Peter Neeser (Switzerland), Len Apedaile (Canada) and Anne Lannem (Norway).

As the IPC Technical Delegate for Cross-Country Skiing and an assistant for Biathlon, Egli helped develop the sit-ski sprint course for Vancouver 2010 and contributed to the newly created IPC Nordic Skiing point system. Vancouver 2010 was his final event as a Games official after many years of supporting the IPC at the Paralympic Winter Games and various World Championship events.

“I was very surprised and very happy,” Egli said of receiving the award. “I didn’t even think anytime about this possibility.

“I feel I always wanted to do the best for the organization and the athletes.”

Egli has been involved in para-sport since 1988, when he began work with Switzerland’s National Paralympic Committee on various World Cup events.

In Vancouver, he managed course conditions, athlete logistics and competition organization.

He had to work quickly to help transform the Olympic ski course to a Paralympic one that was suitable for visually impaired athletes in order to secure their safety during the Games.

“Athletes first” was his motto throughout both Vancouver 2010 and his career.

Egli said that he was easily able to carry out his duties in Vancouver due to a solid staff and great volunteers, and because of the nice weather.

“We were very lucky because the weather conditions the whole time were very good,” Egli said. “That was a very exceptional thing.”

At 67 years old, Egli is now retired, but he has enough sporting memories on the slopes to last him a lifetime.

Eight teams will qualify for Sochi 2014, where they will play at the Maly Ice Palace in front of 7,000 cheering fans.

Editor’s Note: Here is an excerpt of the sport profile from the latest edition of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) magazine, The Paralympian.

Ice Sledge Hockey only made its Paralympic Games debut at the Lillehammer 1994 Games but has quickly become one of the biggest spectator attractions at the Winter Paralympics.

Much of this can be credited to improvement in both the quality and quantity of the resources required for the sport.

“It’s been almost like an explosion,” said Eskil Hagen, who scored Norway’s winning goal with 3.6 seconds to go in its bronze-medal match against Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

“In 1993, the equipment was really basic but has improved a lot since then.”

The development of the sledges in the last decade has transformed the sport into an elite competition, thus attracting more athletes and countries.

The sport originated in Sweden during the 1960’s and then spread to Norway and Great Britain before reaching Canada and Estonia. Those were the first five nations to field teams at the Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games, and since then it has spread across Europe and to Asia and North America.

Now, USA and Canada are driving the growth of the sport, as they are the biggest markets for grassroots due to their number of resources, youth development programmes and injured war veterans.

Across the Atlantic, Norway has been nursing the Netherlands and Sweden has been helping Finland set up a programme, and Japan is thriving in the Pacific after just starting up a team in the mid-’90s.

While the growth of Ice Sledge Hockey has been exponential, Hagen said it will take some time before the younger teams reach the podium.

At next spring’s 2012 World Championships, USA and Canada will start as favourites, while host nation Norway could play a spoiler role.

Looking further ahead, eight teams will qualify for Sochi 2014, where they will play at the Maly Ice Palace in front of 7,000 cheering fans.

And with the rate the sport is growing right now, Ice Sledge Hockey is bound to create some of the most unforgettable memories at Sochi 2014.

The 15th International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly came to a close in Beijing, China on Sunday (11 December) with members receiving a review of the last Paralympic Winter Games as well as updates on the next four editions of the Games.

Dena Coward, former Director of Paralympic Games at the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games, started proceedings giving a review of the last Paralympic Winter Games.

She spoke about how Vancouver 2010 had delivered many Paralympic firsts and that targeting youth had been an integral part of the Organizing Committee’s strategy to help change perceptions of people with a disability and deliver the best Winter Games ever.

“At Vancouver 2010 our aim was not to talk about athletes with disabilities but athletes with abilities,” said Coward who highlighted that the Games had received more TV coverage then any ever before, and were the first to be broadcast in HD.

Over 300 hours of coverage to a global audience of 1.58 billion viewers, whilst 10 rights holders distributed pictures to 33 countries. In Canada around one third of the nation (33 million) watched the Games. A total of 84% of tickets for the event were sold making them the most successful and well attended Paralympic Games ever.

In closing Coward said: “We created Paralympic fans and an appreciation of Paralympic Sport.

“We reached or exceeded the goals we had set ourselves.”

The next Paralympic Winter Games will be held in Sochi in 2014 and President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Organizing Committee for those Games Dmitry Chernyshenko was next up to present to the General Assembly.

He opened by saying “Sochi 2014 has given Russia a unique chance to change for the better, and we are taking that chance,” before giving updates on the Sochi 2014 sports programme, venues, transportation, accommodation, and the Organizing Committee’s desire to deliver an accessible Games.

“The creation of a barrier free environment is priority number one for us. It has been approved by the Russian government and more than 20 states are now involved in projects,” stated Chernyshenko.

To ensure this, Sochi 2014 has integrated best practice from previous Paralympic Games into their efforts to deliver the most convenient Games ever.

Sponsorship revenue for the Games now exceeds 99 million US dollars, which Chernyshenko said underlined the health of the Paralympic Brand in Russia.

The Organizing Committee now boasts 600 staff and test events for the Games will start in February 2012 through until September 2013.

“Sochi 2014 is holding more than the Paralympic Games. It’s an inspirational project for the millions of people with a disability who live in Russia. We want to change their lives,” said Chernyshenko who outlined that Paralympic awareness, accessibility and inclusiveness were three key priorities for his team.

“The Russian government is taking unprecedented steps to improve the lives of people with a disability in Russia. Sochi 2014 is the catalyst for this,” he concluded.

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG), followed Cherynyshenko to tell members about the progress of London 2012 which starts in just 262 days time.

Coe was joined by colleagues Chris Holmes, Director of Paralympic Games Integration and Piers Jones, Sport Competition Group Manager and said he was proud to be bringing the Games back to where they began, referencing Stoke Mandeville.

He paid tribute to Paralympics GB Chair Tim Reddish for his help in ensuring athletes remain at the centre of LOCOG’s work.

“Our focus has not changed,” said Coe. “Athletes are the heart of everything we do.

“By placing them at the centre, you have to get so many other things correct.”

According to statistics presented by Coe, more than one third of people believe the Paralympic Games will bring about a breakthrough for the way people with a disability are viewed in UK. Over half believe the Games will show the world how to treat people with a disability with respect and equality.

London 2012’s reach also impressed delegates. Domestically its education programme ‘Get Set’ is now immersed in 21,000 UK schools, equating to 68% of the total number, while Inspiration International has reached its target of engaging 12 million youngsters in 20 different countries in sport.

“Our big challenge over the next eight months is scaling up the organization to deliver a Games of great complexity,” said Coe who highlighted that LOCOG’s workforce is now increasing by 120 employees a month and will eventually reach a total of 6,000 people by the start of the Games.

Chris Holmes said International Paralympic Day, which was held on 8 September and secured worldwide media coverage, had resulted in some spectacular ticket sales for the forthcoming Games

“In the first ticket window we shifted over one million tickets. Many sessions and some sports are sold out.

“Cycling at the Velodrome sold out, Wheelchair Rugby sold out, Wheelchair Tennis sold out.

“On 2 December when tickets went back on sale, 15,000 tickets were sold in the first 15 minutes.”

Members were updated on the Paralympic torch relay, the popularity of Games mascot Mandeville - who appears on 40% of London 2012 merchandise, venues, test events, operational planning and pre-Games training camps.

A video message from Carlos Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, started Rio 2016’s presentation before his colleague Agberto Guimaraes, who was in Beijing, detailed the Organizing Committee’s ongoing activities. This included an event held in September to mark five years to go as well as last month’s stunning emblem launch.

Guimaraes also updated members on venues - which will be located in four zones, stakeholder management, Paralympic integration and Rio 2016’s communications plan.

The final update of the day was given by Dongo Hoo Moon, Secretary General of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Games. The Organizing Committee was only inaugurated one and a half months ago however, Dongo Hoo Moon said he was committed to Korea delivering the best Paralympic Winter Games ever.

The IPC General Assembly is the supreme governing body of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and meets every two years. It determines policy for, and sets the fundamental directions for the development of sports for athletes with an impairment.