Paralympics: Where to follow?

If you thought that the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games marked the end of sports from London, think twice. The Paralympics are beginning in 10 days.

The media coverage probably won't be as ubiquitous as it was for a few weeks when you, literally, could not escape the Olympics action on NBC and on the web. And if you are one of those people who wanted to "find out" the results while enjoying the prime time coverage, you had to watch "spoiler alerts" every time you logged onto Facebook or Twitter.

That probably won't be the case with the Paralympics, but there will still be some opportunities to follow the competition in 21 sports including goalball, rowing, sitting volleyball or wheelchair basketball.

ABC, an Australian channel will be providing coverage and radio streaming on the web. BBC and Channel 4 have online coverage set up, but it seems that these services are not accessible in the United States. The websites are still helpful, though. Channel 4 also has a Twitter account @C4Paralympics.

While browsing for other media options, I found the official Paralympic YouTube channel the most helpful so far. The channel features videos from previous Paralympic Games, interviews, and "tutorials" on how the sports are played.

Since television coverage of the Paralympics in the U.S. is basically non-existent, sports fans will have to find other ways to follow. Thankfully, now social media can keep us updated during the day. (See an earlier post on our blog.)

The stories from London continue. Most recently, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)  announced that the 2012 games will welcome a record number of participants, including a record number of female athletes.

More to come. Competition starts on August 29th and lasts until September 9th. Stay in the loop.

-- Dunja Antunovic