Donovan Tildesley will be the Flag Bearer… announced at beautiful Welcome Ceremony

Tonight we had the Canadian Team Pep Rally, Flag Raising and Welcome Ceremony and it was definitely a great way to officially start these Paralympic Games. Anticipation, excitement and pride were felt by everyone – we are all here to represent Canada and to perform our best – this message was really brought home today.

First, there was a Chinese singer who was actually born in Manitoba, but who is now a big star in China – his name is Chelsie (I don’t know the spelling)! He got us all cheering and waving our arms… a fun way to start the celebration.

Mario Delisle, our National Team Coach, then gave a speech about Paul and many of his accomplishments, to introduce him as one of the 3 finalists to be the Flag Bearer. Mario’s words meant a lot and it was wonderful to be recognized at this ceremony, along with Chantal Petitclerc and Donovan Tildesley. It was even more exciting for us to have boccia highlighted… boccia has come such along way and it really is special for Paul to see this transformation and to be a part of it all.

There were then speeches by the coaches for the other 2 nominees, as well as inspiring and encouraging words from Lilo Ljusibijic, the athlete’s representative on the International Paralympic Committee (and a fellow Canadian) and from Carla Quattrogh, the President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Then we watched an incredible martial arts performance, where these 3 young men broke metal over their heads and pushed a sewing pin through plexiglass.

Finally, Donovan Tildesley, a swimmer, also from Vancouver, was announced as the Flag Bearer for the Opening Ceremonies. We are very proud of Donovan and excited to have him lead us into the Bird’s Nest in a couple of short days! He gave a wonderful speech and we know that he will be an excellent representative for the Canadian team.

After the announcement we headed outside to the Flag Raising Ceremony, which we shared with New Zealand and Uzbekistan. It was an emotional experience, as it hit home that we are here to represent something much bigger than ourselves as individuals. We look forward to doing Canada proud – it is something that you can’t put into words to be a part of the Canadian team and a citizen of the best country on Earth. The Mayor of the Paralympic Village gave a speech and we listened to a beautiful song by a Children’s Choir called ‘Heart to Heart.’ This is an exciting time for all of us and we are so happy to have all of you at home and around the world cheering for us and wishing us well. We look forward to the Opening Ceremonies and then to the start of our competition!

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