Australia was represented by one non-competing athlete at the inaugural 1976 Winter Paralympics. The games were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden over seven days from 21 to 28 February 1976.
Due to narrow disability requirements, Australia was unofficially represented by Ron Finneran, who was unable to compete as his disability did not meet the event classifications. However, Mr. Finneran's unwavering commitment led to the eventual formation of Disabled Winter Sport Australia (DWSA) and paved the way for Australia's successes at future Winter Paralympic Games.
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
The IPC Winter Paralympic Games history book states that the first, unofficial idea for the Winter Paralympics arose in 1974 during a pause of the annual general meeting of the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD). ISOD Vice President of the time, Bengt Nirije, suggested that the Swedish delegation put forward a bid for the games. The Swedish obliged and the bid was gratefully accepted by the other members of the assembly. This resulted in the Swedish Sports Organisation for the Disabled (SHIF) taking responsibility for the inaugural games and thus the Winter Paralympics was born.
Despite there being no official record as to why Sweden was encouraged to host the games, its rich history in winter sports was no doubt an influential factor. However, despite being the host country, Sweden only had 16 athletes compete which was the sixth largest delegation.
Participating nations
The following nations took part in the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
The games were unsurprisingly dominated by European nations as they historically had a much larger exposure to winter sport recreationally and competitively at the Winter Olympics.
Of the 16 competing nations, Australia is absent. Despite having been at the games, Australia's Ron Finneran was disqualified as he failed to meet the disability requirements. As a result, Australia never officially competed at the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
Logo
The literal translation of the word Ornskoldsvik is "eagle shields bay". Fittingly, the logo for the Ornskoldvik Paralympics consists of a large eagle carrying a shield over a body of water. Below, and on either side, is an alpine skier and a cross-country skier - the two sports featured in the games.
Opening ceremony
There is very little documentation regarding the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik aside from the fact that they were relatively small/simple by today's standards.
The opening ceremony was held on Saturday 21 February in Kempehallen, Sweden in front of an estimated 1500 spectators. Regional Governor of the County of West Norrland, Bertil Löfberg, had the honour of declaring the world's first Winter Olympic Games for the Disabled open.
It is reported that 16 nations were represented in the ceremony and Australia's sole athlete, Ron Finneran had to privilege of wearing his nations flag.
Ron Finneran
In 1976, Australian disabled skier Ron Finneran became aware of the Winter Paralympics being held in Ornskoldsvik , Sweden. At the time, there was no governing body in Australia to organise qualifying events. Instead, Mr. Finneran took it upon himself to seek out the only other two Australian skiers with a disability and asked whether they would be willing to take part in a "ski off" in order to qualify. Both of them declined the invitation due to family and work reasons, and thus Ron Finneran became the sole athlete representing Australia at the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
Mr. Finneran left for Sweden six weeks before the beginning of the games, after receiving some funding from the Cabramatta Rotary Club. However, his Paralympic endeavor was largely at his own expense. Upon his arrival in Ornskoldsvik he was offered accommodation in a spare room at the local cinema by the games organizing committee. In order to pay for this accommodation, he spent his days washing dishes at a local restaurant and trained at night on a slalom course with locals.
The 1976 Winter Paralympics had strict disability classifications, allowing only the blind and amputees to compete. This was unfortunate for Finneran who suffered limited mobility in his legs and arms due to polio that he contracted as an infant. Understandably, he was frustrated at being unable to compete which led to a heated argument with Dr Ludwig Guttman, the founder of the Paralympic movement. Despite being unable to compete, he had the honor of carrying the Australian flag at the opening ceremony and was given the role of ensuring course quality and safety