Athletes prepare for opening ceremony of Vancouver Winter Paralympics

Otago's Adam Hall will carry the flag for his country in the opening
ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympics Games late this afternoon
New Zealand time.

Hall, 21 who is at his second winter Paralympics was honoured by the
decision and as team Chef de Mission, Jon Turnbull says the reward is more
than suitable for Hall.

"Adam is the epitome of the professional athlete. He lives and breathes high
performance and there is no one else I would like to see more carrying the
symbol of our nation at the pinnacle of international competitive winter
sports. This is Adam's second Games," says Turnbull.

"His rise to the top of the sport began in the Torina 2006 Winter Paralympic
Games. It was there that he set his goals and aspirations to become the best
he could be. So far that has proved to be the best in the world on several
occasions. That is what we are aiming for and he has done the hard yards and
put all of the work in. To be able to say that with honesty and integrity is
both touching and awe-inspiring.

"So far the village is working really well. We're all pleased to be in and
the facilities are great," says Turnbull.

Aside from the opening ceremony the team of Hall and Auckland's Peter
Williams, 24 have been taking part in a familiarization process around the
athlete's village along with their coaches and other officials.

There has been the flag raising march-in for the Kiwi team which created
quite an impact with a small crowd gathering and claiming "Hey! They're the
team with the Silver Fern spray painted on their windows," ..... "They're
the team with the yellow AA road signs nailed to their balcony". "They're
the ones who always dress in black". Many Kiwi supporters have made the time
to sneak away from their jobs in the Village to watch the New Zealand team
make themselves at home and to wish them good luck.

Hall is the first of the two Kiwi athletes to compete with the Super G set
to start at 7.30am on Monday 15 March, weather permitting (New Zealand
time).