Andrea Gets Schooled

Why You Should Consider Attending the Future Games

I had an incredible opportunity to go to Paris from September 2-8 to watch the 2024 Paralympics. I was researching para sports for a special project with Hodgson Orthopedic Group, and the Paralympics were a concentrated way to watch the highest level of para sports, with athletes from all over the world.

Why I loved the Paralympics Spectator Experience

• It was a great opportunity and excuse to visit a city that may or may not be on your travel wish list. The upcoming games are are Milan, Los Angeles, The French Alps, Brisbane, Salt Lake City, Doha… I might not choose to travel to those cities individually but I would consider visiting them to attend the games

• Of course, the Olympics would be awesome too! But from what I heard, the Olympic period was WAY busier and WAY more expensive for event tickets… more on that later

• Having events scheduled each day served as a central anchor for the trip. In Paris, many stadiums were located outside the city centre, which gave me a good reason to explore neighbourhoods that I otherwise wouldn’t. I’d look up the event times, transit options, and then plan some touristy things around those

• Caveat: this was my second time to Paris. I went 13 years ago and did all the major attractions so I didn’t have as much FOMO this time around. This enabled me to take my time in quieter neighbourhoods without feeling like I had to rush to see the Eiffel Tower or Versailles. If it would be your first time visiting the city, plan a few extra days at the start or end of your trip because the event days can be quite busy

Logistical Tips

Although Paris was ‘different’ than normal with all the hustle and bustle of the Olympics and Paralympics, going to the city during the games time offers a bunch of benefits:

• Safety: the security was heightened, with security guards, police, and military EVERYwhere. As a solo female traveller, I always felt safe even when I was taking the metro home at midnight
• Also for safety and convenience, I chose a hotel right beside a major metro station rather than a cute airbnb in a residential area. Being near the major transit station enabled me to come home midday to rest or get some work done
• The signage around Paris was extra. They modified all the metro line maps to highlight which stations were closest to each stadium. There were pink signs in metro hallways, near exits, and on the street it was hard to get lost
• Volunteers! My goodness, the volunteers were everywhere, from everywhere. They were so friendly, so helpful, and brought the vibes at each event! They’d be dancing, have big foam fingers pointing you in the direction of the event, and were chanting into megaphones to get the crowd amped up before we event entered the stadium. If I hesitated or looked lost, a volunteer would approach me quickly to offer help
• The Paris Games also had two great deals I took advantage of:
  • eSIM: I used an app called Airalo that had a Paris 2024 Games Package where I got 20GBs for 17 days for $17. I was on google maps constantly and I only used half of my allotted amount
  • Transit pass: The Paris Games offered unlimited city bus and train across all venue zones for 70 euro for 7 days, including the trips to and from Charles de Gaulle International airport which were normally 10-15 euro each way

What I Learned as a Spectator

• As a healthcare professional, I found the Paralympics to be a fantastic showcase of what a human body is capable of. All the athletes had some level of impairment, and each person demonstrated strength and skill in their own ways. There were table tennis players using their mouth to hold the paddle, or wheelchair boccia players with upper spinal cord injuries holding and throwing their ball in unique ways with incredible accuracy. Blind football and goalball players had unbelievably amplified hearing and proximity awareness, and wheelchair tennis players could turn on a dime to race down the court all while holding their racket and keeping an eye on the ball.
• There’s a lot of talk about healthcare companies hospitals creating more inclusive spaces for our patients and clients with disabilities, and this is one very fun and inspiring way to get a glimpse into their experiences in a way that’s empowering for the athletes
• I’m able bodied so I can’t speak to this through experience, but what I observed was that Paris made great efforts to maximize accessibility for the games

Recommendations When Planning a Trip for the Paralympics

• I went to one event each day (sometimes two, but that was a lot), and chose mid-level seats. Event tickets were anywhere between 15 euro for large venues or less popular events, to 60 euro for ideal seats at prime matches. At one event, a local told me their Olympics tickets were 5x the price! Consider: If you otherwise wanted to go to a major stadium like Stade de France, or Roland Garros, or Grand Palais, you’d probably have to buy a much more expensive concert or sporting event ticket just to go inside
• One challenge when planning was not being able to predict the teams schedules because of eliminations etc, especially in later rounds. I would’ve loved to watch Canada and was able to for four events, but I couldn’t have planned for it. However, most of the tickets gave you full day access to a venue, or let you watch multiple matches back to back. It was AWESOME when I happened to be a spectator for any France competitor, because the stadiums were full of French families – there many kids on school field trips which was great to see
• Bring a water bottle and snacks: Paris had refillable water stations everywhere, and they allowed personal portions of food. Good thing, because…
• Food choices were minimal and standardized across all venue cafes. On multiple occasions, the events ran longer than I expected so I was glad when I remembered to bring a granola bar or pick up a baguette sandwich at a shop enroute. However, I did buy a salad once and it was good and reasonably priced.
• I suggest buying a mix of tickets, for individual events (like wheelchair tennis), events with multiple simultaneous matches (boccia or wheelchair table tennis), and team events (basketball or blind football) because the atmospheres were totally different. For example, table tennis had 4-6 tables running at a time which meant you always had something to watch but the cheers and audience attention were diffused. In contrast, when I watched blind football, the whole stadium was watching the same action at the same time, and I could feel everyone on the edge of their seat or holding their breath, and of course, bursting into cheers
• Do your research before to understand how the sports work! Many of the sports have similar and straightforward rules of play as other sports, but there are some events that have modified rules such as the two-bounce rule for wheelchair tennis, and other sports such as goalball and blind football which are unique to Paralympics. My friends at Kreatives Co in Germany worked with the Paralympic committee to make phenomenal 90-sec explainers for all 22 sports that I found super helpful to get a high level understanding of what was going on. Of course, I was googling a lot during the games as well to understand athlete classification, game rules, penalties, etc

Packing List to Optimize your Paralympic Experience

• Small water bottle
• Snacks / sandwich especially if you have dietary restrictions
• Sunscreen for open air venues
• Sunglasses
• Rain jacket – was so glad I had mine on paracanoe day (it poured!)
• Battery pack! My phone battery ran out often because I was taking videos and pictures, and using google maps so much
• Ensure you have sufficient phone memory. Halfway through the games, my phone was full and my icloud memory was also maxed out and I had to fiddle with my phone to get more storage
• Comfy shoes. Some venues were close to the metro stations, some required 15-20 minute walks
• Layers – I had a button up long sleeve shirt or blazer most days with a t-shirt or tank top underneath

Overall, Paris 2024 exceeded all my expectations and it was a wonderful tourist experience as well as an educational one. Furthermore, as a business owner, I appreciated so many aspects of the Games overall: multi-event logistics, individual event organization, branding (it was beautiful and cohesive!), venue decor, and the integration of classic French architecture with modern event planning. Most importantly, I appreciated the beauty of human movement in the wide spectrum of ways that para athletes can move and play.

I hope I can attend the Paralympics in the future: Milan 2026, LA 2028, The French Alps 2030, or Brissy 2032 have all piqued my interest in a new way. Who’s up for an international trip?

A huge thank you to Hodgson Orthopedic Group for supporting me on this adventure to Paris, and the Kreatives Co team for inviting me to join them at several events. I’m truly grateful for the special week that it was.

Watch my highlight reel on IG here

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