This year's National Winter Para Games are slated for Feb. 11-14 in Gangwon-do (State) Province. Shown is a Group B game between teams from the provinces of Chungcheongnam-do and Gyeonggi-do at the last competition from Feb. 18-21, 2024. (National Winter Para Games)

By Lee Dasom

This year's National Winter Para Games will run from Feb. 11-14 in Gangwon-do (State) Province.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, hosted by the Korea Paralympic Committee and organized by the province, the competition this year is the biggest in its history with 1,135 participants (525 athletes and 610 coaches and personnel) from the country's 17 cities and provinces.

The seven events in the tournament are alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, curling and skating sports like short track.

The opening ceremony is slated for the evening of Feb. 11 at Lakai Sandpine Resort in Gangneung. Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jang Miran will attend and give a speech to encourage the athletes.

New to the tournament is the Outstanding Partner Award, which goes to non-disabled athletes who serve as partners for visually impaired athletes in competition.

"I'm very aware that all participating athletes have undergone challenging processes to overcome their limits to get all the way here," Vice Minister Jang said. "The ministry will strive to create an environment in which people with disabilities can pursue their dreams through sports."

Admission to all the events is free. Details like schedules and locations are on the competition's official website (http://winter.koreanpc.kr), and information on the tournament is on the official blog (http://blog.naver.com/kosad_blog).

This is an official poster for the National Winter Para Games. (Korea Paralympic Committee)