The Pan American Games are currently being held in Toronto, Ontario but it’s the Parapan American (Parapan Am) Games where people with disabilities are able to focus on their abilities. This is the 5th Parapan Am Games and, according to their website, this will be the “best-ever Parapan Am Games that are athlete focused, reflecting and celebrating the drive, commitment and excellence of the athletes.”
What Are the Parapan Am Games?
The Parapan Am Games first came to fruition in 1999 in Mexico City and saw 1,000 athletes from around the world compete in four sporting events and the Parapan Am Games were, and continue to be, a qualifying event for the Paralympic Games so when these athletes compete, they compete to win. This year, 1,608 athletes representing 28 countries will be competing in 15 sport, making this year’s Parapan Am Games the biggest ever.
The History of the Paralympic Movement
While sports for the disabled have been around for more than 100 years, it wasn’t long ago that athleticism in the disabled wasn’t celebrated alongside abled sports but the Paralympic movement changed all that. After World War II sports for athletes with disabilities were finally brought to the fore as it was recognized that they could help rehabilitate veterans and civilians that had been injured in the war.
On July 29, 1948, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, who worked with those with spinal injuries, organized the first competition for wheelchair athletes named the Stoke Mandeville Games where 16 injured servicemen and women competed in archery. By 1956, the Stoke Mandeville Games had been held two more times with the Netherlands joining in, creating an international movement.
Disables athletes were truly celebrated started in 1960 with the first Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy which featured 400 athletes from 23 countries competing in eight sports. The Paralympic Games happen every four years and since 1976, the Paralympic Winter Games have also been held every four years.
Since 1988 in Soul, Korea and 1992 in Albertville, France, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same cities and venues as the Olympic Games and hosting in the same city and venues is now mandatory.
Paralympians Alongside Athletes Without Disabilities
What this movement has created is an environment where Olympians and Paralympians compete and win alongside each other. In fact, the word “Paralympic” is a combination of “para,” meaning beside of alongside, and “Olympic.” We now host events where paralymics are just as championed as their non-disabled counterparts because while a disability may change the way one competes in sports, it doesn’t affect the drive and spirit needed to win them.
The Parapan Am Games will run from Friday, August 7, 2015 to Saturday, August 15, 2015 in Toronto. For more information about the Parapan Am Games, please see here.
“This article was written by award-winning mental health writer and speaker, Natasha Tracy.”
http://natashatracy.com
