Paralympic Schedule

From NBC:

"2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games: What you need to know" 

The 2018 Winter Paralympics will have 670 athletes from 80 countries. Compared to the Sochi Paralympics four years ago, the total number of athletes has increased from 539, and the number of female athletes has been upped by 44 percent.

When are the Winter Paralympics?  The Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea will be held March 9 to 18, 2018.

The Sports   The sports at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang will include para Alpine skiing, Para Nordic (which includes both para biathlon and para cross-country skiing), para ice hockey, para snowboard, and wheelchair curling.

The Events  Para Alpine events at the Winter Paralympics include the same events that are on the Olympic program: downhill, slalom, giant slalom, and super-G. There are visually impaired, sitting, and standing classification events in each for both men and women.Para Nordic skiing includes para cross-country skiing and para biathlon, which itself is a combination of skiing and shooting. Cross-country races can be 800m sprints or up to 20km, depending on the athletes’ class and gender. Para ice hockey consists of six-man teams propelling themselves on sleds using spikes and two hockey sticks. Games are three 15-minute periods and are played on Olympic-sized rinks. Para snowboard was under the para Alpine umbrella at the Sochi Olympics and only had one event: snowboard cross. Now, banked slalom is added to the PyeongChang Paralympic program. Athletes compete based on their classification. In snowboard cross, often abbreviated SBX, athletes get three runs down a course and their best run determines their placement in the head-to-head brackets. In banked slalom, athletes get three runs, and the fastest run determines the results. Wheelchair curling consists of co-ed teams playing six ends, with the possibility of overtime if the teams are tied. Athletes throw the stone, or use a stick, to get it as close as possible to the center of the target. There is no sweeping.

The Athletes  Some Team USA athletes to know ahead of the Winter Paralympics are:- Aaron Pike -- Para Nordic    - Amy Purdy -- Para Snowboarding'   - Andrew Kurka -- Para Alpine Skiing   -Brenna Huckaby -- Para Snowboardin  -Danelle Umstead -- Para Alpine Skiing  -Declan Farmer -- Para Sled Hockey   -Evan Strong -- Para Snowboarding  -Mike Schultz -- Para Snowboarding  -Oksana Masters -- Para Nordic  -Rico Roman -- Para Sled Hockey  -Steve Cash -- Para Sled Hockey  -Thomas Walsh -- Para Alpine Skiing

The Medals  The medals for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic athletes were inspired by the Hangeul (Korean characters), Hanbok (Korean traditional clothing), and the Hanok (Korean traditional house), as well as Korea’s unique culture. They were designed by Lee Suk-Woo, an industrial designer from Korea.The front of the medal features “Agitos,” the Paralympic emblem. The words “PyeongChang 2018” are carved in braille. Along the sides of the medal, the phrase “PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games Two-Thousand-Eighteen” are carved in three dimensions. On the back of the medal, the name of the event and the PyeongChang Paralympic emblem are embossed.The medal’s strap is created with “gapsa technique,” the traditional Korean technique that is used for making Hanbok. The gauze-like fabric, or the gapsa, is translucent and light. It features a snowflake pattern.The case is made to mimic traditional Korean houses, but reinvented for the modern age.

The Venues In the mountain cluster, the Jeongseon Alpine Center will host para Alpine skiing and snowboard events. The Alpensia Biathlon Centre will put on the para Nordic skiing events, biathlon and cross-country skiing. In the coastal cluster, para ice hockey will be inside the Gangneung Hockey Centre and the Gangneung Curling Centre will host the wheelchair curling competition

.The Mascot “Bandabi” is the mascot for the 2018 Winter Paralympics. The mascot is an Asiatic black bear closely tied to South Korean mythology, culture, and folklore.The name Bandabi comes from “bandal” meaning “half-moon,” a symbol seen on the Asiatic black bear’s chest, and “bi” celebrates the Games themselves.  

^  Here is a good overview of the 2018 Paralympic Games being held in March. ^

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/2018-pyeongchang-paralympic-winter-games-what-you-need-know