DESTINATION VANCOUVER: ARMENIAN SQUAD DEPARTS FOR 2010 PARALYMPICS
Hrant Katarikyan
2010/03 /04 | 13:59
By a stroke of pure luck and dogged determination, a five member
Armenian delegation leaves Yerevan today headed for Vancouver, Canada,
to participate in the 2010 Paralympics. The games will host 1,000
disabled athletes from 40 nations.
Hakob Abrahamyan, President of the Armenian National Paralympics
Committee, is heading the delegation comprised of two athletes, a
trainer and a translator. Mr. Abrahamyan said Armenian participation
in the Paralympics dates back to the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan. He
was quick to point out, however, that the road has been a rocky one
and that they are still overlooked by the Armenian government in
terms of support and financing.
I had the good fortune to meet Hakob, who also runs the "Pyunik";
an NGO focusing on the needs of Armenia’s disabled, a week ago. At
the time, he wasn’t sure if the squad would be going. The problem
was finances.
The Armenian Paralympics Committee receives 3 million AMD from the
government yearly. That translates into about an $8,000 budget that has
to cover everything – training, equipment, travel expenses and more.
Wanting to show just how little that was, Hakob told me, "You know
that 3 million AMD equals the salary of one cleaner on the Azerbaijani
team." He said that that Azerbaijani Paralympics Committee enjoys a
yearly budget of $2 million – half from the government and half from
wealthy oil sponsors.
Hakob called me on Tuesday to say that the team was going to
Vancouver. It seems that at the last minute they found some sponsors
to cover the travel expenses. I visited the Pyunik office situated
in a red-tufa building in the shadow of the Tzitzernakaberd Genocide
Memorial outside Yerevan.
It turns out that while the team was training in Tzaghkadzor, a winter
ski resort used to train athletes back in the Soviet era, they bumped
into former RoA President Robert Kocharyan. Hakob told me that the
ex-president had assisted them in the past and agreed to do so again.
The team also received some last minute financing from Ardshinvest
Bank.
"It’s funny how things worked out. There we were training at
Tzaghkadzor and we even had to pay for our own lift tickets. They
charge 7,500 AMD for ten rides up the mountain. We couldn’t even get
any discounts at first. Like anything else in Armenia, it’s who you
know," Hakob said.
After arriving at Pyunik, I met the other members of the team heading
to Vancouver.
Mher Avanesyan, a 28 year-old veteran of previous Paralympic Games,
hails from the village of Mokhratagh in the Martakert region of
Karabakh. He lost both arms in a freak electric accident. Tall, lanky
and somewhat reserved, Mher confessed that he started training for
the Games late this time around.
"Of course, I’m determined to do my best, as always. It’s just that
the less you train the harder it is to make the grade. We have to get
by on a shoe-string budget and that just makes matters worse," he said.
Garush Danielyan, the team’s trainer, is from Spitak. He lost one
leg in the earthquake and participated in the Winter Paralympics at
Nagano and Salt Lake City as an athlete before turning trainer.
"All of our athletes participate with white cards. It means none
have international ranking since our guys don’t have the chance
to participate in European and other competitions between the
Paralympics. There’s little government backing. In fact some at
the Ministry of Sport have never even heard of the Paralympics,"
Garush said.
Gayane Usnyan, a 25 year-old woman from Gyumri, is the other
Armenian athlete on the squad. She also lost a leg in the 1988 Spitak
earthquake. Despite the fact that this will be her first Paralympics,
she didn’t seem to have the jitters.
"I want to get there and do the best I can. I have something to prove
to myself as well," she said.
Bothe Mher and Gayane will be competing in the Giant Slalom event
scheduled for March 18. Mher said that he will also be participating
in the Slalom on March 20.
I asked Garush if he thought that Armenian T.V. would broadcast the
Paralympics, since at least one station covered the Winter Olympics.
"Probably not. I don’t even think any of the stations know that
Armenia will have a team there," he answered.
Hakob showed me the outfits the team would be taking with them. The
coats had "Armenia" emblazoned on the backs and the scarves were in
the Armenia tri-color. "We’ll look smarter than the Armenians who
went to the regular Winter Olympics," he said boasting.
I wanted to get a group photo of the team and had them put on the
coats and scarves. Five Armenians heading off on an 18 hour plane
trip to Vancouver via Paris and Toronto.
We said our goodbyes and I wished them a safe journey and success.
I’m confident they’ll come through with flying colors.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress