Pralympic Fact - Did you know....

London 2012 will be the most compact Games ever. Around half of the 20 sports will be held in the Olympic Park and the majority of the remainder in the River Zone. These two zones are just 15 minutes apart.

The River Zone features five venues in the Thames Gateway area which straddle the River Thames. They are: North Greenwich Arena 1, Greenwich Park, North Greenwich Arena 2, ExCeL and the Royal Artillery Barracks.

Events held outside these two zones include Paralympic Rowing (which is being held at Eton Dorney, 25 miles west of London), Paralympic Sailing which is at Weymouth and Portland and Paralympic Road Cycling which will be held in central London.

London 2012 will be the most accessible Games ever for athletes and spectators. Train platforms have been widened, buses will be low-floored and are wheelchair accessible and all river piers have ramps.

More than 8,250 London buses have been fitted with the new iBus system an automatic radio and on bus passenger display announcement system which helps the visually and hearing impaired and those unfamiliar with London.

Paralympic Fact - Did you know.....

Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Roberts are Britain’s most successful Paralympians. Both have won 11 gold medals each. Grey-Thompson won hers on the track and Roberts in the pool.

Swimmer Chris Holmes won nine gold medals including six in one Games (Barcelona 1992), the largest medal haul at a single Paralympic Games by a British Paralympian ever.

Quote of the Week

"You can't base your life on other people's expectations".

Stevie Wonder, Musician

Paralympic Fact - Did you know......

In the last three Paralympic Games (Beijing 2008, Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000) Paralympics GB has never finished lower than second in the medal table.

 Beijing 2008 was the most successful Paralympic Games ever for Paralympics GB with a final tally of 42 gold medals.

More than half, 58 per cent, of the British Paralympic team in Beijing in 2008 were at their first Games making London 2012 a fantastic prospect for more medals.

Quote of the Week

"People get so caught up in trying to fix the person that they don't see the great diversity and benefits that the person has to bring to the rest of the world".

Alison Seylor, Mother of Alex who has autism

Paralympic Fact - Did you know.....

The classification of athletes based on their disabilities is key to the Paralympic Games. In each event athletes are classified by officials appointed by the international federation for their particular sport.

The classification system works in the same way as different weight categories for boxing, and is in place to ensure fair competition in events from athletes with different abilities.

In athletics there are five main groups of classes:

* Classes 11, 12 and 13 cover the different levels of visual impairment.

* Class 20 covers athletes with a learning disability.

* Classes 32-38 cover athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy - both wheelchair users (32-34) and those who are ambulant/do not use wheelchairs (35-38).

* Classes 40-46 cover ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other impairments, including les Autres – the term for a range of conditions, such as dwarfism, which result in locomotive disorders.

* Classes 51-58 cover athletes with different levels of spinal injuries and amputations who compete in wheelchairs

Quote of the Week

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see".

Mark Twain, Writer.

Paralympic Fact - Did you know......

The 2012 Summer Games feature events in 20 sports, 16 of which are also Olympic sports: Archery, Athletics (Track and Field), Wheelchair Basketball, Cycling, Equestrian, Wheelchair Fencing, soccer 5-a-side, soccer 7-a-side, Judo, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Wheelchair Tennis, Volleyball, and Rowing. The other four are Boccia, Goalball, Powerlifting, and Wheelchair Rugby.