At the scene of the Paralympic Alpine Skiing Men's Giant Slalom Final held yesterday, volunteers thoughtfully pushed wheelchairs for the finished runners to facilitate the athletes' rest. Photographed by Wu Yibin, a reporter of this newspaper
The National Stadium sends birthday wishes to Canadian athletes.
At the National Stadium, volunteers use modified trolleys to send athletes into the playing field. Photographed by Wu Yibin, a reporter of this newspaper
Paralympic athletes are the protagonists of the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, and in addition to their performances on the field, their lives in the Winter Paralympic Village have also attracted much attention. Yesterday, the International Paralympic Committee and the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee jointly held a regular press conference, the reporter learned that Beijing, Yanqing, Zhangjiakou three winter Paralympic villages not only serve extra carefully, food and housing in the various barrier-free facilities also intimately and meticulously take care of everyone's special needs. According to the plan, the Winter Paralympic Village will officially close on March 16.
Repair service for 270 athletes
As the "warm home" of athletes during the Winter Paralympic Games, the three Winter Paralympic Villages provide services for athletes and accompanying officials 24 hours a day, and the staff starts from the details and makes careful arrangements and designs in terms of apartment facilities, catering services, sports and leisure to meet the diverse needs of athletes.
There were plenty of handicap accessibles in the apartment. Shen Qianfan, director of the Olympic Village Department of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and director of the operation team of the Beijing Winter Olympic Village (Winter Paralympic Village), introduced that all the doors are sliding doors that can be operated with one arm, as well as handrails and bath stools. The bed in the bedroom is 10 cm lower than at the Time of the Winter Olympics, making it easier for wheelchair-bound athletes to get out of bed.
"Roast duck is very popular during the Winter Olympics, and during the Paralympic Games we continue to serve Chinese specialties such as roast duck to welcome guests from all over the world." Shen Qianfan said that the athletes' restaurant has also carried out barrier-free transformation, taking the Beijing Winter Paralympic Village as an example, reducing the removal of 146 seats and retaining 338 seats, of which 118 are seatless and 220 are seated, so as to facilitate wheelchair access; wheelchair storage areas are also set up. It is worth mentioning that the restaurant also has a special Braille menu.
The fitness centre and recreation centre continue to provide services, and 8 hand-cranked bicycles have been added to the 3 Winter Paralympic Villages to facilitate aerobic fitness training for disabled athletes. In addition, wheelchair prosthetic repair centers are opened in the square area, equipped with professional and technical personnel, stocked with sufficient maintenance parts, wheelchairs and other equipment suitable for athletes and team officials, and equipped with top-notch grinders, band saws, infrared ovens and welding equipment. As of the afternoon of March 9, a total of 270 athletes had been provided with free maintenance services for sports equipment and living aids.
The self-made "Miniature TAXI" sends athletes to appear
In order to ensure the training of sports teams, the National Stadium, which undertakes Paralympic ice hockey events, completed the conversion from the Winter Olympic Games to the Winter Paralympic Games in 5 days.
"Paralympic athletes' ice skis and hockey clubs damaged the ice surface even more, we thickened the ice surface from 4 cm to 5 cm; the athletes' seats and penalty seats were made of ice, the thickness was consistent with the ice surface of the competition, and the acrylic board wall in front of them was replaced by a transparent board wall to facilitate real-time observation of the situation in the field. The important areas that the athletes pass through are also paved with imitation ice plates to facilitate their passage on ice sleds. Lei Ming, executive deputy director of the national stadium venue operation team, introduced.
Before the start of the race, the staff used small carts to push the Paralympic athletes, frequently traveling back and forth between the locker room and the competition venue, becoming a unique landscape in the stadium. "The attentive staff found that some athletes were not very convenient and comfortable to use in wheelchairs, so they came up with this method and transformed the trolley into a 'micro welfare TAXI', which was widely praised." Lei Ming explained that the staff laid yoga mats and towels on these 4 trolleys, and also decorated with "snow rongrong" balloons and Paralympic posters, which were loved by athletes with wide protective gear due to their convenient access and relatively spacious.
There are also many heartwarming moments playing out in the venue. Before each match, the National Stadium provides 50 ice hockeys for the ice warm-up of the two participating teams. Volunteers will seek the opinions of the team, and then use their ingenuity and imagination to use these ice hockey balls on the board wall to place different patterns and shapes, some are national abbreviations, some are the team's mascots, some are some kind of national elements, and some are trophies or victory patterns, expressing good wishes for athletes.
Whenever an athlete celebrates a birthday, with the consent of the team leader, the venue will broadcast birthday wishes on the big screen to surprise the athletes, and will also use ice hockey to pose a cake to express congratulations.
The Winter Paralympic Village will officially close on March 16
The Beijing Winter Paralympic Games will usher in the closing ceremony on March 13, when will the athletes leave? "According to the established work plan, on March 16, the three Winter Paralympic villages will be closed, and now a lot of work is being carried out in an orderly manner. For example, the certification documents and nucleic acid test certificates required by athletes when they leave the country are gradually implemented according to the plan. Shen Qianfan introduced that the village also provides some luggage delivery services for athletes, including the forward movement of the check-in counter, and you can check in luggage, print boarding passes, and check in the village.
Shen Qianfan said that the departure of athletes and the booking of tickets, each winter Paralympic village also has a system that will display in real time, which can better provide them with shuttles, luggage, including the deployment of welfare vehicles, so as to provide accurate services for athletes and avoid their waiting time from being too long.
"In the village, the staff, volunteers and athletes have been together for more than ten days, and everyone is also relying on each other to say goodbye, we will send some small gifts, hold some simple and warm small farewell parties, and hope that they will return to the motherland safely with China's good wishes." Shen Qianfan revealed.
Source: Beijing Daily
Reporter: Ren Shan
Process Editor: Yan Shengmiao