It was a strange experience for Team sa国际传媒 wheelchair rugby players Miranda Biletski and Zac Madell to be looking at Maracana Stadium on the large-screen TV on Friday at the Westin Bear Mountain, knowing they will be rolling into the famous soccer facility next month during the 2016 Rio Paralympics opening ceremony.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a word to describe it,鈥� said Biletski, as she watched the Rio Olympics opening ceremony.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty overwhelming to watch the Canadian athletes marching in tonight and knowing we will be there, too,鈥� said the 27-year-old, who has been in a wheelchair since a diving accident at age 16.
Few cities could hold an Olympic opening ceremony viewing party like this one, as Rio-bound Paralympians mingled with past Olympic medallists such as rowers Kyle Hamilton, Malcolm Howard and Buffy Williams.
鈥淭his gathering speaks to how this city gets the importance of sports and also gets the journey,鈥� said Rugby sa国际传媒 national teams manager Gareth Rees, whose Langford- and PISE-based world No. 3 Canadian women鈥檚 sevens team opens today at the Rio Olympics.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just turn on the TV and there鈥檚 a Steve Nash, Ryder Hesjedal and Ryan Cochrane. People here realize it鈥檚 a pathway and a journey.鈥�
Two-time Olympians Hamilton and Howard reminisced about how they never marched in an opening ceremony in order to conserve energy for their competitions.
Their gold medal together with the Canadian eight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is proof they do not harbour any regrets about it.
Some Islanders didn鈥檛 march Friday in Rio for the same reason, but several athletes who train on the Island were part of the 2016 Olympic Games opening ceremony.
Marching or resting, it鈥檚 all good, said Langford Mayor Stew Young, who has worked hard to make his city a Canadian training hub for several Olympic sports.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to give our support, and it鈥檚 great to show our support at something like this,鈥� said Young.
鈥淭his builds momentum to get even more national team centres to locate here,鈥� he said.
The public viewing area at Bear Mountain will operate during the duration of the Olympics and Paralympics.
鈥淚 plan on being here [today] to watch the rugby,鈥� said Young.
鈥淚t鈥檚 better than sitting and watching on the couch at home.鈥�
