1.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
2.
Opening ceremony
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A grand opening is a publicized event at which a new establishment announces its official opening to the public. Depending on the nature of the establishment, a party atmosphere may be promoted by use of food, music, prizes, balloons, giveaways, festive signs, searchlights, a ribbon cutting ceremony is a common ritual, symbolically opening the facility to the public. Before the grand opening there are usually media previews, such openings may be by invitation only, or may welcome visitors made aware of it by word of mouth. Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, fans Not Customers, How to create growth companies in a no growth world
3.
Prince Harry
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Prince Henry of Wales, KCVO, familiarly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. After an education at schools in the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry chose a military career, undergoing officer training at RMA Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals, serving temporarily with his brother, in 2007–2008, he served for 77 days in Helmand, Afghanistan, but was pulled out following publication of his presence there by an Australian magazine. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps and he left the army in June 2015. Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014, and remains patron of its Foundation and he also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and Walking With The Wounded. Harry was born at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984 at 4,20 pm and he was baptised on 21 December 1984 at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. His godparents are Prince Andrew, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, Carolyn Bartholomew, Bryan Organ, Gerald Ward and Celia, Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age, his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985. Harrys parents divorced in 1996, and his mother died following a car accident in Paris the following year, Harry and William were staying with their father at Balmoral at the time, and the Prince of Wales told his sons about their mothers death. Like his father and brother, Harry was educated at independent schools and he started at Jane Mynors nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the exams, was admitted to Eton College. In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels, having decided to drop history of art after AS level and he excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union. Passing two A-levels, Harry was eligible to apply for a commission in the British Army. One of Harrys former teachers, Sarah Forsyth, has assessed that Harry was a weak student, both Eton and Harry denied the claims. While a tribunal made no ruling on the claim, it accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level expressive project. After school, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working on a cattle station and he also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom. Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals. He was given the service number 564673, on 13 April 2008, when he reached two years seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant
4.
Air Canada Centre
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The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, the area was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League during their brief existence. The arena is known as the ACC or the Hangar. In 2008, the ACC was the fifth busiest arena in the world, the Air Canada Centre is connected to Union Station and the underground pedestrian PATH system, providing access to public transportation. There are also 13,000 parking spaces, the Air Canada Centre has, from its initial design to completion, revolutionized many concepts included in new arenas and stadiums built since then. The Air Canada Centre also hosts events, such as concerts, political conventions. Construction of the Air Canada Centre was started by the Toronto Raptors, under its ownership group headed by Canadian businessman John Bitove. Groundbreaking took place in March 1997, MLSE subsequently ordered major modifications to the original design, which was basketball-specific, to make the arena become more suitable for hockey. Originally planned to cost $217 million, MLSE increased the budget to $265 million after taking control, the Raptors were twice fined a million dollars by the NBA for missing deadlines to begin construction of their new arena. Due to financial difficulties, the ownership was returned to Canada Post in 1993. The Toronto Raptors purchased the building from Canada Post the next year, the original building is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. A 15-storey tower on Bay Street stands at 55 metres and provides connections in the atrium to Union Station, Bay Street, the Air Canada Centre is connected to the underground PATH network. Air Canada purchased naming rights to the arena for $30 million over 20 years since opening, in 2003, MLSE completed a $5 million upgrade of the arena, including a new LED signage system. During the summer of 2015, a $10 million upgrade of the arena was carried out, the old scoreboard was later installed at Ricoh Coliseum. Maple Leaf Square is jointly owned by MLSE, Cadillac Fairview, the two-year, $48 million renovation of the ACC added a new atrium that includes a High-Definition broadcast studio for Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and GolTV Canada. The outside wall of the features a 30-by-50-foot video screen overlooking the plaza. During NHL and NBA playoff runs, the square attracts thousands of Leafs and Raptors fans, respectively, a section of the square is designated Ford Fan Zone at Maple Leaf Square, with naming rights given to the Ford Motor Company of Canada. During Raptors playoff runs, the square has acquired the nickname Jurassic Park, the first Maple Leafs home game took place on February 20,1999, versus the Montreal Canadiens, won by the Leafs 3–2 on an overtime goal by Steve Thomas
5.
Invictus Games
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Named after Invictus, Latin for unconquered or undefeated the event was inspired by the Warrior Games, a similar event held in the United States. The first Invictus Games took place in 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, the 2014 opening ceremony was attended by Prince Harry, Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, and Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. The event also included a message from then–First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama. The second games opened on 8 May 2016 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Florida, the opening ceremony was attended by Prince Harry, then–First Lady Michelle Obama, former American President George W. Bush and many other dignitaries. The 2017 games will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II helped make a promotional video for the 2016 event. The Games were launched on 6 March 2014 by Prince Harry at Londons Copper Box arena, having seen a British team competing at the US Warrior Games held in Colorado in 2013, the prince wished to bring the concept of a similar international sporting event to the United Kingdom. With the backing of Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Ministry of Defence, the Games were also sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover. Speaking at the launch, the said that the Games would demonstrate the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation. He also said that their objective was to ensure injured troops are not forgotten as Britains involvement with the War in Afghanistan comes to an end. The Invictus Games Foundation was created as the legacy of the first-ever Invictus Games and it governs the process of the future Games. The bidding process for future games started in November 2014, hamilton visited Tedworth House, before the announcement 3 July 2015, Lewis invited some Invictus Games athletes to British Grand Prix. The first Invictus Games were held on 10–14 September 2014, around 300 competitors from 13 countries which have fought alongside the United Kingdom in recent military campaigns participated. These included the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, competitive events were held at many of the venues used during the 2012 Olympics, including the Copper Box and the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. The Games were broadcast by the BBC, no countries from Africa were invited. There were teams from all the countries, except Iraq. Athletics, Archery, Indoor rowing, Powerlifting, Road cycling, Sitting volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair basketball, the presenting partner Jaguar Land Rover also organised a driving challenge
6.
Disabled sports
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Disabled sports, also adaptive sports or parasports, are sports played by persons with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. As many disabled sports are based on existing able bodied sports, modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability, however, not all disabled sports are adapted, several sports that have been specifically created for persons with a disability have no equivalent in non-disabled sports. Disability exists in four categories, physical, mental, permanent, organized sport for athletes with a disability is generally divided into three broad disability groups, the deaf, people with physical disabilities, and people with intellectual disabilities. Each group has a history, organization, competition program. Formal international competition in sport began with the 1924 Paris Silent Games, organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds. These games evolved into the modern Deaflympics, governed by the CISS, the CISS maintains separate games for deaf athletes based on their numbers, their special communication needs on the sports field, and the social interaction that is a vital part of sports. Organized sport for persons with disabilities existed as early as 1911. One of the athletes was Walter William Francis, a Welshman. Later, events often developed out of rehabilitation programs, following the Second World War, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation. Sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport, the pioneer of this approach was Sir Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London and this was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the modern Paralympic Games. The first official Paralympic Games, after the change, was held in Rome in 1960. In 1975, the Paralympic Games expanded to include those with limb amputations, individuals with cerebral palsy were allowed to compete beginning in 1980. Currently, Paralympic sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, one such program is the Wounded Warrior program, which offers sitting volleyball to injured service members. Some organizations also offer opportunities to family and friends of injured service members in addition to the members themselves. Sport for persons with intellectual disabilities began to be organized in the 1960s through the Special Olympics movement and this grew out of a series of summer camps organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, beginning in 1962. In 1968 the first international Special Olympics were held, in Chicago, today, Special Olympics provides training and competition in a variety of sports for persons with intellectual disabilities. Sport for persons with physical disabilities began to be organized in the US in the late 1960s through Disabled Sports USA, in 1970, Hal OLeary founded the National Sports Center for the Disabled at Winter Park in Colorado
7.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
8.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
9.
Canadian Forces base
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A Canadian Forces Base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units, minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS. A Canadian Forces Station could host a single minor unit, many of these facilities are now decommissioned for administrative purposes and function as detachments of a larger Canadian Forces Base nearby. Note, Primary lodger units at Canadian Forces Bases used by the Canadian Army are regiments of the Canadian Army. Hubert, Quebec CFB St. Coinciding with personnel and equipment reductions was the controversial decision to close a number of bases. For example, the CF Leadership and Recruit School at St. Jean, Quebec, is now a unit of CFB Montreal. Other facilities are now used as training grounds for reserve/militia units, List of Royal Canadian Air Force stations List of Royal Canadian Navy stations
10.
Pan American Games
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The Pan-American or Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, the only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. The Pan American Sports Organization is the body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure. The XVII Pan American Games were held in Toronto from July 10–26,2015, since 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with one another. The Parapan American Games are held following the Pan American Games. The Pan American Games Movement consists of sports federations, National Olympic Committees that are recognized by PASO. As the decision-making body, PASO is responsible for choosing the host city for each Pan American Games, the host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter and rules. The Pan American Games program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is determined by PASO, the celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the flag and torch, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in 36 sports, the first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. At the first Pan American Sports Congress, held in Buenos Aires in 1940, the plans had to be postponed because of World War II. A second Pan American Sports Congress held in London during the 1948 Summer Olympics reconfirmed Buenos Aires as the choice of host city for the inaugural games, countries that were part of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada did not compete at the first Pan American Games. The second games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, competitions started on March 12 and included 2,583 athletes from 22 countries, competing in 17 sports. The Pan American Games were held every four years in the cities of Chicago, United States in 1959, São Paulo, Brazil in 1963 and Winnipeg. While the inaugural 1951 Games hosted 2,513 participants representing 14 nations, during the games most athletes and officials are housed in the Pan American Games village. This village is intended to be a home for all the participants. It is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression, PASO allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organizations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees, examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico and Bermuda which compete as separate nations despite being legally under the jurisdiction of another power. There have been attempts to hold Winter Pan American Games throughout the history of the games, reliable winter snow in the Americas is limited to two countries, the United States and Canada
11.
2015 Pan American Games
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The games were held from July 10 to 26,2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, preliminary rounds in certain events began on July 7,2015. These were the third Pan American games hosted by Canada, the Games were held at venues in Toronto and seventeen other Golden Horseshoe communities. The Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games were organized by the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. The Games hosted 6,132 athletes representing 41 National Olympic Committees in the Americas, marking the largest multi-sport event hosted in Canada, a record of 45% of competitors were women, the most ever for any multi-sport event. 364 events were contested in 36 sports, which included the 28 sports contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics, canoe slalom and golf made their Pan American Games debut, as well as womens competitions in baseball, C-1 canoe and rugby sevens. The Canadian Olympic Committee chose Toronto and the region as the Canadian candidate. No other Canadian city was given a chance to bid in a domestic race, Torontos interest in bidding came after failing to land the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Atlanta and Beijing respectively. On February 23,2009, Toronto City Council and Hamilton City Council approved the bid, the official bid book document was submitted to the Pan American Sports Organization on May 27,2009. PASO made a visit to Toronto between August 30 and 31,2009. The team analysed the candidate city features and provided its feedback back to voting members of PASO, the evaluation committee was headed by Julio Maglione, a member of the IOC representing Uruguay and the head of Fédération Internationale de Natation, the international swimming federation. After the visit Maglione said, Toronto has all the conditions to play host to the Pan American Games. Toronto won the bidding process to host the Pan and Parapan American Games by a vote of the Pan American Sports Organization on November 6,2009, at the PASO Session held in Guadalajara, the result was announced by PASO President Mario Vázquez Raña. Toronto faced two other finalists shortlisted Lima, Peru, and Bogotá, Colombia, Toronto earned 33 votes, while contesting candidate cities Lima and Bogotá received 11 and 7 votes, respectively. The 2015 Pan American Games used a mixture of new venues, existing and temporary facilities, after the Games, some of the new facilities will be reused in their games time form, while others will be resized. A total of 30 competition venues across 14 municipalities were used for competition, ten of these venues were newly built, while fifteen were renovated to stage the games. Toronto was one of the most populous cities in history to hold the Pan American Games, in July, Toronto has an average mean temperature of 22.3 °C and afternoon maximum average of 26. Torontos elevation is 112 m above sea level, the opening and closing ceremonies were held at Pan-Am Ceremonies Venue, or simply Pan-Am Dome, due to sponsorship rules. Some of the venues in the Toronto area included Exhibition Stadium, the Pan Am/Parapan Am Fields, the Exhibition Centre
12.
York Lions Stadium
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York Lions Stadium is an outdoor athletics facility on the campus of Torontos York University. It is home to the York Lions, the teams of York University. The facility was built for the 2015 Pan-American and Parapan American Games. It also hosted the ceremony for the 2015 Parapan American Games. During the games the venue was known as the CIBC Pan Am, initial plans had a multi-purpose athletics and soccer stadium to be built somewhere in the vicinity of Hamilton, Ontario, however, the final plans separated the soccer and athletics venues. The soccer stadium, Tim Hortons Field, was built on the site of Ivor Wynne Stadium, the Hamilton stadium will not use the corporate name of that facility. The stadium was expected to seat approximately 5,000 spectators, the facility cost roughly $45.5 million. On May 26,2016 it was announced that the stadium would play host to the 2017 North American Indigenous Games, the stadium will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics competitions in July 2017. Venues of the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games York University Lions Page Toronto 2015 - CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium Page
13.
Sport of athletics
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Athletics is a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running. The results of racing events are decided by finishing position, while the jumps, the simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes performances for a team score, organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BCE. The rules and format of the events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century. Most modern top level meetings are conducted by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics. The foremost international athletics meeting is the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, other top level competitions in athletics include the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. Athletes with a disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships. The word athletics is derived from the Ancient Greek ἀθλητής from ἆθλον or ἆθλος, initially, the term was used to describe athletic contests in general – i. e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century, the term acquired a more narrow definition in Europe. This definition continues to be the most prominent one in the United Kingdom, furthermore, foreign words in many German and Roman languages which are related to the term athletics also have a similar meaning. In much of North America, athletics is synonymous with sports in general, the word athletics is rarely used to refer to the sport of athletics in this region. Track and field is preferred, and is used in the United States and Canada to refer to most athletics events, including racewalking, Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric. Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival, the Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival in Ireland, founded around 1800 BCE, and the thirty-day meeting included running and stone-throwing among its sporting events. The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BCE was a running event known as the stadion. This later expanded to include throwing and jumping events within the ancient pentathlon, Athletics competitions also took place at other Panhellenic Games, which were founded later around 500 BCE. The Cotswold Olimpick Games, a festival which emerged in 17th century England. Annually, from 1796 to 1798, LOlympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, the premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display
14.
Fort York
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Fort York is a historic site of military fortifications and related buildings on the west side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923, the City of Toronto designated the site, along with the nearby Fort York Armoury, as a Heritage Conservation District in 1985. In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe authorized a garrison on the present site of Fort York, Simcoe recognized Toronto was an ideal site for settlement and defence because of its natural harbour and relative longer distance from the United States. Fort York guards the entrance to the bay. Simcoe had decided to make Toronto the capital of Upper Canada, and the government, the first parliament buildings and the town were established one, in 1797 a garrison was built east of modern-day Bathurst Street, on the east bank of Garrison Creek. This fort was destroyed in the Battle of York,1813, todays Fort York was largely built by Royal Engineers immediately after the War of 1812. The rebuilt Fort York is located on the fort site west of Bathurst. Fort Yorks buildings are among the oldest buildings in Toronto today, the original fort buildings were all wood, whereas the current structures are a mix of brick and wood. S. army and naval forces attacked York from Lake Ontario, overrunning the garrison. As the British abandoned the fort, they set the magazine to blow up. The U. S. destroyed what was left of the garrison and burned much of the settlement of York and they had defeated outnumbered British, Canadian, and First Nations forces, but with the loss of many more men. Following several more U. S. raids over the summer, the rebuilt fort was sufficient to repel a further attempted invasion in 1814. The British Army had occupied Fort York from 1793 but transferred the site to the Dominion of Canada after Confederation, however, the City of Toronto owned Fort York from 1903 onwards. Fort York was used as an establishment until 1880, and again during the First. The fort, operated as a museum of the City of Toronto, offers casual visitors, during the summer months, the site comes alive with the colour and the pageantry of the Fort York Guard and is complimented with tours by professional historical interpreters. In the off-season months, the fort is busy providing educational programs for booked tour groups including school, scout, guide, and day care groups. In the 1950s Fort York was almost torn down to make way for the Gardiner Expressway, the reclaimed lands to the south of the fort are in the process of being developed, with new condo towers eventually limiting any possible reconnection with Lake Ontario. The cemetery for the fort was located west of the garrison and overgrown with grass and thistles, by the late 19th century twenty eight stones or wooden crosses marked graves, but there were hundreds of mounds. The cemetery continued to fall into disrepair and is not part of the present Fort York, from 1995 to 2008, Fort York hosted Torontos annual Festival of Beer
15.
Archery
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Archery is the sport, practice or skill of using a bow to propel arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity, a person who participates in archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite. The bow and arrow seems to have invented in the later Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest signs of its use in Europe come from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic, about 10, 000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft, there are no definite earlier bows, previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark, bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its predynastic origins. In the Levant, artifacts that could be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture, the Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam-points may well be arrowheads. Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Parthians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, akkadians were the first to use composite bows in war according to the victory stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad. The Welsh longbow proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the Battle of Crécy, in the Americas archery was widespread at European contact. Archery was highly developed in Asia, the Sanskrit term for archery, dhanurveda, came to refer to martial arts in general. In East Asia, Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea was well known for its regiments of skilled archers. Central Asian tribesmen and American Plains Indians became extremely adept at archery on horseback, lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in the Central Asian steppes, and they formed a large part of armies that repeatedly conquered large areas of Eurasia. Shorter bows are more suited to use on horseback, and the bow enabled mounted archers to use powerful weapons. It is possible that barbarian peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their civilized counterparts—the Xiong-nu, similarly, short bows seem to have been introduced to Japan by northeast Asian groups. The development of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare, albeit efforts were made to preserve archery practice. In Wales and England, for example, the government tried to practice with the Longbow until the end of the 16th century. This was because it was recognised that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the Hundred Years War, early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very susceptible to wet weather
16.
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
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The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is a sports complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The centre hosted diving, fencing, swimming, synchronized swimming, funding for the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is the largest single investment in amateur sports in the history of Canada. The architect of the facility is David Clusiau, PCL Construction and NORR Ltd. signed a contract to design, build and finance the facility. The facility was designed by Counsilman-Hunsaker, the company designed the 1996 Summer Olympics aquatic centre. The facility has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold label, the facility was funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the municipal government of Toronto and the University of Toronto. In 2009, students at the University of Toronto Scarborough voted in favour of a 25 year levy which will contribute about $30 million to the facility, in 2011, the city of Toronto learned it had to contribute an extra $23 million for soil remediation on the former landfill. The whole facility cost about $205 million Canadian dollars which makes it the largest amount spent on sport in Canada. The official ground breaking for the facility was on 27 September 2012 and was attended by such as Mayor of Toronto. The facility was announced then as the largest venue being built for the 2015 Pan American Games and it has been announced that the facility will be a host venue to both the North American Indigenous Games and the Invictus Games in 2017. The aquatics centre has 3,500 seats, the facility also includes another 50 metre training pool, which doubles the number of Olympic Standard Pools in Toronto. Moreover the aquatics centre also contains a pool with three diving platform heights and a dry diving training centre. The centre is the only facility in the area that meets international competition standards. The field house is adjacent to the centre and seats 2,000 people. The field house hosted fencing and modern pentathlon events during the 2015 Games, the field house consists of three gymnasiums, a 200 metre indoor running facility, racquet sports courts and a centre for fitness which the entire school community can use. Moreover the facility contains weightlifting equipment and a training area and it is also the home of the Canadian Sports Institute Ontario. Official website Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre at the University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre at the 2015 Pan Am Games
17.
Sitting volleyball
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In sitting volleyball, a 0.8 meter-wide net is set at 1.15 meters high for men and 1.05 meters high for women. The court is 10 x 6 meters with a 2-meter attack line, players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor whenever they make contact with the ball. It is also possible to block the serve and jousts are generally replayed, athletes with the following disabilities are eligible to compete in sitting volleyball, athletes with amputations, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, brain injuries and stroke. There are no athlete classifications by disability, skills are largely identical to the sport of volleyball and the following game terminology apply, Ace - A serve that lands in the opponents court without being touched. Attack - An attempt by a player to win a point by hitting the ball over the net. Attack line - In indoor volleyball, a line three metres from the net which marks the limit for where a player may advance to hit a ball from above the net. Back-row player - In indoor volleyball, any of three players positioned at the back of the court, block - To block an opposing player from spiking the ball by jumping at the net with arms in the air. Boom - In beach volleyball, a straight down into the sand. Centre line - In indoor volleyball, the line running directly under the net. Chuck - To push or throw the ball rather than hit it, crossing space - The zone above the net and between two antennae through which the ball must pass during a rally. Dig - A defensive move in both arms are placed together in an attempt to bounce a hard-hit ball up into the air. End line - A back boundary line of the court, facial - A boom or spike that hits an opponent in the face. Fault - A foul or error which results in the loss of the rally, front-row player - In indoor volleyball, any of three players positioned closest to the net. Front zone - In indoor volleyball, the area between the net and the attack line, ground - To hit the ball to the ground, preferably on the other teams court. Heater - A hard-hit or spiked ball, hit - To touch the ball as an offensive player, one of three hits allowed a team in getting the ball back over the net. Hold - To let the ball settle into the hands briefly on a shot instead of releasing it immediately, joust - A joust occurs above the net between two or more opposing players that forces the ball to become stationary. Kill - To smash the ball overarm into the opponents court, Kong - A one-handed block, named after King Kongs style of swatting biplanes in the original King Kong movie. Libero - In indoor volleyball, a defensive player especially adept at digging
18.
Wheelchair basketball
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Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing an able-bodied sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide. FIBA has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes, the IWBF has 82 National Organizations for Wheelchair Basketball actively participating in wheelchair basketball throughout the world, with this number increasing each year. It is estimated more than 100,000 people play wheelchair basketball from recreation to club play. Wheelchair basketball is played by boys, girls, men and women, Wheelchair basketball is included in the Paralympic Games. The Wheelchair Basketball World Championship is played two years after every Paralympic Games, major competition in wheelchair basketball comes from Canada, Australia, the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Japan. In 1944, Ludwig Guttmann, through the program at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It was known as wheelchair netball, at around the same times, starting from 1946, wheelchair basketball games were played primarily between American World War II disabled veterans. This began in the United States at the University of Illinois, dr. Timothy Nugent founded the National Wheelchair Basketball Association in 1949 and served as Commissioner for the first 25 years. The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games, held in 1947, were the first games to be held and included only a handful of participants, growth in both the number of wheelchair events and participants came quickly. Wheelchair netball was introduced in the 1948 Games, in 1952, a team from the Netherlands was invited to compete with the British team. This became the first International Stoke-Mandeville Games, an event that has been held ever since. Wheelchair basketball, as we know it now, was first played at the 1956 International Stoke-Mandeville Games, the US Pan Am Jets team won the tournament. In 1973, the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation established the first sub-section for wheelchair basketball, at that time ISMGF was the world governing body for all wheelchair sports. In 1989 ISMGF accepted for its former wheelchair basketball sub-section to be named International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, full independence came in 1993 with the IWBF becoming the world body for wheelchair basketball with full responsibility for development of the sport. World championships for the sport have been held since 1973, with Bruges, the first world championship for men was won by Great Britain. Of the first 11 mens world championships, six were won by the United States, Canada has won four of the womens world championship titles, and the United States two
19.
Nathan Phillips Square
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Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, the square was designed by the City Halls architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong. The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a farmers market, the winter festival of lights. During the winter months, the pool is converted into an ice rink for ice skating. The square attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors yearly, with an area of 4.85 hectares, it is Canadas largest city square. The square is rectangular in shape, with the edge of the city meeting the square on an angle on the north side. The main portion of the square is paved with two sizes of reinforced concrete slabs, the square has a reflecting pool, a peace garden, a permanent stage and several sculptures, including Three-Way Piece No.2 by Henry Moore. Around the remaining perimeter of the square runs an elevated concrete walkway, outside the walkway are treed lawns dotted with various other memorials and monuments, such as Oscar Nemons statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and a Roman column. Beneath the square is one of the worlds largest underground parking garages, in 2012, illuminated disappearing fountains were installed among the slabs, used for decoration and cooling. The Square is property of the City of Toronto, smoking is prohibited in the entire square. The reflecting pool is situated in the south-east corner of the square, at the same time, a piece of the Berlin Wall was placed at the southern base of the central arch. To the west of the pool is a pavilion where food is available. The Peace Garden was created as a memorial to the bombing of Hiroshima. The sundial at the end of the garden pre-dates the peace memorial, inscribed with the words In appreciation of the opportunity to serve, it was originally installed in 1969. Johnson, and presented by Nathan Phillips to the residents of Toronto, the 600 m2 garden consists of a pavilion, a fountain, and surrounding plantings. The fountains pool encroaches into this corner, with an eternal flame placed in the water so as to appear as though it supports the pavilion structure, to symbolise hope. Pope John Paul II lit this flame with an ember from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima, the entire monument was formally dedicated by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, in October 1984. As part of the redesign of the square, the Peace Garden was moved from the centre of the square to its western edge
20.
Wheelchair tennis
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Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for those who have disabilities in their lower bodies. The size of courts, balls, and rackets are the same, the second bounce may also occur outside the court. Wheelchair tennis is played at Grand Slams, and is one of the sports contested at the Summer Paralympics, there are three categories, Men, Women, and Quads, each category has singles and doubles tournaments. Quads is the category for those with quadriplegia and it is sometimes called Mixed especially at Paralympic Games, Quads players can hold rackets taped to the hand and use electric-powered wheelchairs. Wheelchair tennis increased in popularity in 1976 due to the efforts of Brad Parks, in 1982, France became the first country in Europe to put a wheelchair tennis programme in place. Since then, much effort has made to promote the sport to rid it of the image that still affects many sports for people with disabilities. The sport quickly became popular worldwide and was introduced to the Paralympic Games as an event at the Seoul 1988 Summer Paralympics. It was at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona that wheelchair tennis acquired the status of a full-fledged competition, the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney boosted public awareness immensely and led to the introduction of the sport to Grand Slams of pedestrian tennis. For the 2013 season the ITF decided to adopt match tiebreakers in place of a third, however the tiebreaker would only be used at events which were rated as ITF1 or lower and at the World Team Cup. The grand slams, however, were free to decide on the format of their tournaments, International tournaments are organized by International Tennis Federation as a Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour. In wheelchair tennis, there are five top-ranked major tournaments called Super Series, Australian Open, British Open, Japan Open, US Open, the World Team Cup is an international team event held annually. To wrap up the season, they have NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, the top eight men and women based on the ranking after the US Open at the end of the year compete to be the champion of the year. In addition, Grand Slams, Australian Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros and it is also played at Paralympic Games and FESPIC games as well. In 1990 wheelchair tennis was played at the abled bodied event in Miami, the Wheelchair Tennis Class 8s at the 2002 Australian Open saw competitive wheelchair tennis take place at the same time and the same venue at a Grand Slam for the first time. In 2005 the Masters series was created, comprising all the events at the Grand Slams and the end of year championships, as Wimbledon and the US Open joined Melbourne. In 2007 Roland Garros joined and the Classic 8s were replaced by the Australian Open which had held at the same venue two weeks later. In 2009 all events played at the abled bodied Grand Slams were renamed Grand Slams, the Netherlands has dominated numerous victories at major tournaments including Paralympic Games and Grand Slams. Esther Vergeer holds the record for winning four Paralympic gold medals - one at the 2000,2004,2008 and 2012 Games and she holds the record for most consecutive womens wheelchair singles matches won
21.
Maple Leaf Gardens
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Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Canada. The building was constructed as an arena to host ice hockey games. Considered one of the cathedrals of ice hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1931 to 1999, the Leafs won the Stanley Cup 11 times from 1932 to 1967 while playing at the Gardens. The first NHL All-Star Game, albeit an unofficial one, was held at the Gardens in 1934 as a benefit for Leafs forward Ace Bailey, the first official annual National Hockey League All-Star Game was also held at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1947. The NBAs Buffalo Braves played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1971 to 1975, the NBAs Toronto Raptors played six games at the Gardens from 1997 to 1999, mostly when SkyDome was unavailable. It was also one of the few venues outside of the United States where Elvis Presley performed in concert, in 1972, Maple Leaf Gardens hosted game 2 of the famous Summit Series between Team Canada and the USSR. Team Canada won the game 4–1, the Toronto Maple Leafs had been playing in the Arena Gardens on Mutual Street. It was built in 1912 and held 7,500 for ice hockey, by 1930, Leafs managing director Conn Smythe decided the Arena was too small and he wanted to build a new arena, larger and more impressive. After considering various sites, the site at the corner of Carlton, Eaton Co. Ltd. for $350,000, a price said to be $150,000 below market value. The new 12,473 seat arena was designed by the firm of Ross. To finance the construction, Smythe launched Maple Leaf Gardens Limited, a management company that would own the arena, a public offering of shares in MLGL was made at C$10 each, with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased. Ownership of the team was transferred to MLGL in return for shares. His son, Foster Hewitt, was hired to run the radio broadcasts, the contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township. That price did not include work, which was estimated at an additional $100,000. Additional savings were made through deals with unions, in exchange for shares in MLGL. Construction began at midnight on June 1,1931, in what is to this day considered to be a remarkable accomplishment, the Gardens was constructed in five months and two weeks at a cost of C$1.5 million. Team owner Ballard lived in the owners suite built into the arenas top northeast corner, the Gardens opened on November 12,1931, with the Maple Leafs losing 2–1 to the Chicago Blackhawks. Reported attendance on opening night was 13,542, the Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs that season
22.
Indoor rower
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An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Indoor rowing has become established as a sport in its own right, the term also refers to a participant in this sport. Modern indoor rowers are often known as ergometers, an ergometer being a device which measures the amount of work performed, the indoor rower is calibrated to measure the amount of energy the rower is using through their use of the equipment. Chabrias, an Athenian admiral of the 4th century BC, introduced the first rowing machines as supplemental military training devices, to train inexperienced oarsmen, Chabrias built wooden rowing frames on shore where beginners could learn technique and timing before they went on board ship. Early rowing machines are known to have existed from the mid-1800s, machines using linear pneumatic resistance were common around 1900—one of the most popular was the Narragansett hydraulic rower, manufactured in Rhode Island from around 1900–1960. However they did not simulate actual rowing very accurately nor measure power output, in the 1950s and 1960s, coaches in many countries began using specially made rowing machines for training and improved power measurement. Professor Cotton had produced a rudimentary friction-based machine for evaluating potential rowers by exhausting them, harrison realised the importance of using a small braking area with a non-absorbent braking material, combined with a large flywheel. The advantage of design was the virtual elimination of factors able to interfere with accurate results—for instance ambient humidity or temperature. The friction brake was adjusted according to a weight to give an accurate appraisal of boat-moving ability. The weight correction factor tended to make them unpopular among rowers of the time, harrison, arguably the father of modern athletic power evaluation, died in February 2012. In the 1970s, the Gjessing-Nilson ergometer from Norway used a friction brake mechanism with industrial strapping applied over the rim of the flywheel. Weights hanging from the strap ensured that an adjustable and predictable friction could be calculated and this machine was for many years the internationally accepted standard for measurement. The first air resistance ergometers were introduced around 1980 by Repco, the Concept2 ergometer was introduced in 1980 by the Dreissigacker brothers. The first, the Model A, was a fixed-frame sliding-seat design using a wheel with fins attached for air resistance. The Model B, introduced in 1986, introduced a solid cast flywheel and the first digital performance monitor, the later Models C and D became some of the best-selling fitness equipment pieces of all time. All rowing-machine designs consist of a damper or braking mechanism connected to a chain and/or handle. A foot stretcher is attached to the same mounting as the energy damper, most include a rail which either the seat or the mechanism slide upon. Different machines have a variety of layouts and damping mechanisms, each of which have advantages and disadvantages
23.
Powerlifting
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Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts, squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximum weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a known as odd lifts, which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to the current three, in competition, lifts may be performed equipped or un-equipped. Equipment in this context refers to a bench shirt or squat/deadlift suit or briefs. In some federations, knee wraps are permitted in the equipped but not un-equipped division, in others, Weight belts, knee sleeves, wrist wraps and special footwear may also be used, but are not considered when distinguishing equipped from un-equipped lifting. Powerlifting has been a Paralympic sport since 1984 and, under the IPF, is also a World Games sport, local, national and international competitions have also been sanctioned by other federations operating independently of the IPF. The roots of powerlifting are in traditions of strength training stretching back as far as Greek, the modern sport originated in the United States and the UK in the 1950s. Previously, the governing bodies in both countries had recognized various odd lifts for competition and record purposes. During the 1950s, Olympic weightlifting declined in the United States, in 1958, the AAUs National Weightlifting Committee decided to begin recognizing records for odd lifts. A national championship was scheduled for 1959, but it never happened. The first genuine national meet was held in September 1964 under the auspices of the York Barbell Company, ironically, Bob Hoffman, the owner of York Barbell, had been a long-time adversary of the sport. But his company was now making powerlifting equipment to make up for the sales it had lost on Olympic-style equipment, the magazines first Editor was the world-renowned John Grimek. During the late 1950s and early 1960s various odd lift events gradually developed into the specific lifts – the bench press, the squat, in 1965 the first named USA National Championships were held. During the same period, lifting in Britain also had factions, although at that time there were 42 recognized lifts, the Strength Set soon became the standard competition lifts, and both organizations held Championships on these lifts until 1965. In 1966, the Society of Amateur Weightlifters re-joined BAWLA and, in order to fall into line with the American lifts, the first British Championship was held in 1966. During the late 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s, at the same time, in early November of each year and to commemorate Bob Hoffmans birthday, a prestige lifting contest was always held as part of Bob Hoffmans Birthday Party. In 1971, it was decided to make this event the World Weightlifting Championships, there was no such thing as teams and thus was predominantly a whole bunch of American lifters, plus four from Great Britain and one from the West Indies
24.
Wheelchair rugby
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Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport, the US name is based on the requirement that all wheelchair rugby players need to have disabilities that include at least some loss of function in at least three limbs. Although most have spinal injuries, players may also qualify through multiple amputations. Players are assigned a level in points, and each team is limited to fielding a team with a total of eight points. Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a court, and physical contact between wheelchairs is an integral part of the game. The rules include elements from wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, handball, the sport is governed by the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation which was established in 1993. At that time, wheelchair basketball was the most common team sport for wheelchair users and that sports physical requirement for players to dribble and shoot baskets relegated quadriplegic athletes, with functional impairments to both their upper and lower limbs, to supporting roles. Murderball was first introduced into Australia in 1981, the Australian team competing in the Stoke Mandeville games in England were invited by the Canadians to select a team to play them in a demonstration game. After receiving limited instructions on the rules and skills of the game the contest began, following a fast and very competitive exchange, Australia won. The game was born and brought back to Australia where it has flourished. Murderball was introduced to the United States in 1981 by Brad Mikkelsen, with the aid of the University of North Dakotas Disabled Student Services, he formed the first American team, the Wallbangers. The first North American competition was held in 1982, in the late 1980s, the name of the sport outside the United States was officially changed from Murderball to Wheelchair Rugby. In the United States, the name was changed to Quad Rugby. The first international tournament was held in 1989 in Toronto, Canada, with teams from Canada, in the same year, the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation was established as a sports section of ISMWSF to govern the sport. The first IWRF World Wheelchair Rugby Championships were held in Nottwil, Switzerland, in 1995, Wheelchair rugby is mostly played by two teams of up to twelve players. Only four players each team may be on the court at any time. It is a mixed sport, and both male and female athletes play on the same teams. Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a court of the same measurements as a regulation basketball court —28 metres long by 15 metres wide
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Archery
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Athletics
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Cycling
Golf
Indoor rowing
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Powerlifting
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Sitting volleyball
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Swimming
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Wheelchair basketball
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Wheelchair rugby
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Wheelchair tennis
United States
United Kingdom
Canada*
Australia
Netherlands
France
Ukraine
Iraq
New Zealand
Denmark
Estonia
Italy
Jordan
Germany
Romania
Georgia
Afghanistan
