Hello Canada,

Well, we did it! As some of us watch the Men's Basketball Final from the cool comfort of the Team Services Lounge in the Village (the reason we are not all at the game is another story), it seems a good time to reflect on all that has been accomplished over the past four years.

When leaving Sydney, Canada Rugby had fallen from the podium to a 4th place finish after a very difficult Paralympic Games for the team. The team leaves Athens as the Paralympic Silver Medallists, moving up two places in the Paralympic rankings. We also remain World Champions for another two years. What a result!

We are blessed with a terrific group of athletes of whom we should all be VERY proud. I want to thank Daniel, Jared, Mike, Pat, Dave, Raymond, Al, Al, Ian, Mike, Fabien and Garett for an awesome competitive experience. I also want to thank Marco, Benoit, Stephan, Jenn, and Joe for their commitment to, and support of, this program and our athletes.

I want to thank our provincial members for developing these great athletes, our athlete and volunteer families for their support. Thanks to Don for holding down the fort at home and posting up our results and stats almost as soon as they happened. Thank you to Sport Canada and CPC for your guidance, funding and awesome support in the stands at our
games. I'd also like to extend special thanks to ¨The Lady in Red, Senator Joyce Fairbairn¨ for her constant show of support throughout the Games.

While we have faced some challenges here in Athens, our result was nothing short of STERLING! Way to go guys!

Cheers!

Cath