London's Mayor speaks about Volunteer Program

The Mayor of London has spoken about the importance of volunteering at the Olympic Games in 2012 and how important it is to keep your eye on the ball and remain optimistic about what the games will mean for London and the U.K.

Read the post in Boris Johnson's Blog

Arafura Games - Ready to Go

With little over one week to go, athletes and spectators are preparing themselves for the 2009 Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia.

Taking place from 9-17 May, the Arafura Games will see a total of 367 athletes with a disability from 30 different countries among the over 3,000 participants. The athletes will be competing in eight Paralympic sports, including Athletics, Swimming, Powerlifting, Cycling (Road), Football 7-a-Side, Shooting, Table Tennis and Wheelchair Tennis.

Held in partnership with the Oceania Paralympic Committee and the Australian Paralympic Committee, the Arafura Games will again incorporate athletes with a disability in the Oceania Paralympic Championships. The Oceania Paralympic Championships are open to eligible athletes with a disability from all countries around the world.

The Football 7-a-Side competition on schedule will feature teams from Great Britain, Australia, Japan and Korea. There are over 120 entries for Athletics and an impressive 15 countries competing in Table Tennis.

What makes the Arafura Games unique is the fact that events for athletes with and without a disability are integrated into the one competition, providing a diverse sporting environment and experience.

Additionally, the 2009 Arafura International Sports Conference will this year incorporate the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Women in Sport Summit from 9-11 May. The Conference is an initiative of the Arafura Games organizers - the Northern Territory Government and the Northern Territory Major Events Company (NTMEC) - and is supported by the Australia National Paralympic Committee. Notable presenters at the Summit include Paralympians Louise Sauvage, Amy Winters, Jayme Paris (photo) as well as IPC Women in Sport Committee Chairperson Tine Rindum Teilmann. Also on hand will be the 2008 Australian Paralympic Coach of the Year, Iryna Dvoskina.

The Arafura Games is a leading international sporting competition for emerging champions of the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Since 1991, Arafura Games has been held every two years in the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, Darwin.

For more information on the Arafura Games, please visit www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au.

Paralympic Spirit lives Letters to the Future

Tonight the Paralympic Games have closed in China.

In a very emotional closing ceremony, the Paralympic Athletes gathered once again in the National "Birds Nest" Stadium to pay tribute to thier achievements, triumphant and corageous.

These Paralympic Games have truly been a watershed for the movement and something all of China can be most proud. All fans of sport for athletes with a disability should be proud of their achievements too, for it is they who have travelled to the venues and stages of Beijing, and to China from near and far via the internet and television like never before.

From a personal perspective, the most emotional and uplifting moment this evening has been the segment entitled "A Letter to the Future". Each of the 90,000 crowd, spectators and broadcasters alike received a special postcard and envelope on which they can write a message to the world about what they were thinking and feeling on this special night. These cards and envelopes were only available in Beijing and can only be posted in China.

Over the next week or two these postcards will be delivered around the world with the messages inside them. A message for the future of sport for elite athletes with a disability.

Transcendence, Integration, Equality ... the mission accomplished, the spirit of Beijing will live on, just as it has done so in Sydney. My personal dream would be for the volunteers of Beijing to form a group similar to ours and not just remember this dream but continue to live it as we have done these past eight years.

More success for Jayme Paris in Beijing

Jayme Paris just missed out on a second Bronze medal at the Beijing Paralympics on Wednesday being pipped by New Zealand's Paula Tesoreiro by just four hundredths of a second.

In posting her time, in the 3000m Individual Pursuit, Jayme beat her personal best by 15 seconds.

Well done Jayme we're so proud of your achivements.

Volunteers in Beijing

Our wonderful foundation members Laurie and Barbara Smith have been volunteering in Beijing. They were kind enough to drop us a line ...

"
We have a volunteer job with the AOC in the village working with Michael Mercer in admin in the area Jayme will live in. The village is fantastic and there is even a pool for the team to relax in as well as all the usual things.

So far the temperature is better than Athens so that is great.

The people have gone out of there way to make you feel welcome but most volunteers have no idea of what information to tell you and most can't speak English unless they are working in the village.

The taxi drivers are the same. You must have your address written in Chinese and the location of where you want to go as well and then there is a one in three chance you will get to the right location."