There are 4 Paralympic Winter sports: alpine skiing, Nordic skiing (biathlon and cross country skiing), ice-sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. Below is a brief piece about each of these which appears on the ParalympicsGB Website Sports. There are four events in Alpine Skiing: § Downhill § Super Giant Slalom § Giant Slalom § Slalom. Downhill racing started as a demonstration event at the 1980 Winter Paralympics in Geilo, Norway. The giant slalom was a demonstration event in 1984 in Innsbruck, Austria. Sit-skiing was introduced as an Alpine event 4 years later at the same venue. Nordic Skiing is comprised of cross-country and biathlon (cross-country skiing and shooting) events. The guide must be as proficient as the blind skier in order to complete a winning team. Nordic skiing guides also receive medals. Guides may ski alongside the athlete or in front of the athlete. Athletes with paralysis use a sit-ski. Sledge Hockey is played by athletes with a locomotor disability. Like in ice hockey, each team has six players, including the goaltender, and players follow the same rules as regular ice hockey. It is fast-paced and highly physical. Rinks are Olympic-size and the goalposts are regulation height and width. Athletes sit strapped onto a metal frame that rests on two regular-size ice-skate blades. The sledge is raised high enough to allow the puck to pass underneath. Athletes use two 75 cm long hockey sticks, with spikes on one end and blades on the other. The spike is used to propel the sledge across the ice, and the slightly curved blade is used to handle the puck. Wheelchair curling Curling is a game of great skill and strategy. The first World Cup in Curling for wheelchair players was held in January 2000 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland and it had its Paralympic debut at the Torino Games in 2006, where Great Britain won a silver medal. The sport is generally open to individuals who are non-ambulant or can only walk short distances. This includes athletes with significant impairments in lower leg/gait function i.e., spinal injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, double leg amputation etc, who usually require a wheelchair for daily mobility. Each team must be comprised of male and female players. It is governed by and played according to the rules of the World Curling Federation (WCF), with only one modification for wheelchair users - no sweeping. The above piece is taken from the recent addition of the Equality Standard Newsletter
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