The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport gathering for athletes with disabilities that reflects the highest standards of athletic excellence and diversity, kicked off in Beijing on March 4.

The Games, which will last till March 13, feature 78 events in six sports across three competition zones. Para ice hockey and wheelchair curling will be held in the Beijing competition zone. Para alpine skiing will be held in the Yanqing competition zone and the Zhangjiakou competition zone will host para biathlon and para cross-country skiing.

Here is a review of the Winter Paralympics.

Origin and five principles of Winter Paralympics

The Beijing 2022 Paralympics flame was combined from nine different flames into one at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on March 2.

A total of 565 torchbearers participated in the three-day relay event across the three competition zones. One of the flames originated in the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, Stoke Mandeville in the UK, and then it was sent virtually to Beijing and combined with eight others gathered from the three competition zones.

In 1948, a spinal injury hospital in Stoke Mandeville organized the first sports competition for the physically disabled, an event generally recognized as the birth of the Paralympic Movement.

There are five guiding principles in the Paralympic Winter Games – excellence, diversity, universality, integrity and sustainability.

Equipment at Winter Paralympics

Outrigger

In skiing events, there are three categories – standing, sitting and visual impairment

Para skiers use special poles called outriggers, also known as poles with a foot, which have short ski blades on the end to add extra balance and help with steering.

Biathlon electronic rifles

Technology can help persons with disabilities and in sports, for example, biathlon electronic rifles do.

Athletes with vision impairments aim the target with their ears as the electronic rifles can make a sound. The closer an athlete's aim is to the center of the target, the higher the tone emitted from the rifle.

Sledge

Players in para ice hockey and ice hockey use the same type of rubber puck. A para ice hockey players' equipment includes a sledge for sitting and two sticks on the ice. The two sticks have different ends: one has a wooden blade in the end for handling and shooting the puck. The other has a metal end to propel the sledge.

No ice sweeping in wheelchair curling

The main difference between wheelchair curling and curling is that wheelchair athletes do not sweep the ice, which makes delivering the stones more difficult. A wheelchair curler needs to be more precise in aiming the stone. 

Wheelchair curlers slide stones from a stationary position with their wheels locked and their feet off the ice. A teammate holds onto the curler's chair while he or she is delivering the stone.

(All data sourced from paralympic.org and beijing2022.cn)