2010 Paralympic Games Athlete Interview Opportunities

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Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) will host a special round-table teleconference with four 2010 Paralympic hopefuls.

2010 Hopefuls in teleconference in advance of the March 12th one-year countdown to the first Paralympic Games ever hosted in Canada.

As part of celebrations planned across Canada for the one-year countdown to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) will host a special round-table teleconference with four 2010 Paralympic hopefuls, including: 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Champion, Jim Armstrong; 2006 Paralympic gold medalist in Sledge Hockey, Ray Grassi; Colette Bourgonje a veteran of five Paralympic Games and Kathleen Forestell who is looking forward to her first Paralympic Games.

Members of the media are invited to join the call and speak with some of Canada's top winter athletes as they fine-tune their training and compete on the world stage in preparation for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games which run March 10 to 20, 2010.

What: Paralympic Winter Athlete Round-table Teleconference

When: March 10, 2009 at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT)

Phone: 604 639 5228, Toll Free - 1 888 789 9572 Conference pass-code: 1817132#

Who: CPC President, Carla Qualtrough and 2010 Paralympic Team Canada Chef de Mission, Blair McIntosh and the following para-athletes (Athlete participation subject to change):

I) Ray Grassi (Sledge hockey): Ray, a native of Windsor, ON, has been a member of Canada's National Sledge Team since 2003. He was a member of the Canadian team that won gold at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy and has played in two IPC Sledge Hockey World Championships (2004 and 2008). He helped Canada win gold at the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup at UBC's Thunderbird Arena, the Sledge hockey venue for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Ray, a defense man, is considered one of the hardest hitters in the physical sport of sledge hockey,

II) Kathleen Forestell (Para-Alpine): has been on the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team since 2004. With guide Sebastien Michel, she is the Canadian Champion in Slalom and Super G in the visually impaired category. Last season she won six silver and one gold medal in IPC World Cup competition.

III) Colette Bourgonje (Cross-country Skiing): is a veteran of five Paralympic Games. She competed in the historic Summer Games in 1992 in Albertville in wheelchair racing, the first time the Olympic and Paralympic Games were held in the same city. Colette then took up cross-country skiing. She won two silver medals at the 1998 Paralympic Games in Nagano and 2 bronze medals in 2006 in Torino. She also competed in Lillehammer (1994) and Salt Lake City (2002).

IV) Jim Armstrong (Wheelchair Curling):Last month, in only his second season on the team, skip Jim Armstrong (Richmond, BC), led the Canadian team to their first gold in World Championships at the new Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Center, the venue for Wheelchair Curling for the 2010 Paralympic Games. Jim began curling in 1958 and converted to Wheelchair Curling in 2007 when he started using a wheelchair as a result of knee and back injuries. He has competed in the Brier six times.

On March 12th CPC President, Carla Qualtrough, is available for interview at one-year countdown events in Ottawa. Chef de Mission for the 2010 Canadian Paralympic Team, Blair McIntosh will be available at events in Vancouver and Whistler. To arrange interviews please contact, Anna Parisi, anna@paralympic.ca, 604 828 2875.

The CPC is a non-profit, charitable, private organization with 42 member sports organizations dedicated to empowering Canadians with a disability through sport. Recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the CPC is responsible for sending the Canadian team to the Paralympic Games, a multi-sport event for elite athletes with a physical disability, held immediately following Olympic Games. By promoting Canada's Paralympic athletes, the CPC grows public awareness of sport for persons with a physical disability and supports its members deliver sport programs, strengthening the Paralympic Movement and inspiring all Canadians with a disability to be active. For more information please visit CPC's website at www.paralympic.ca.

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