Whistlerite Brad Lennea took part in a ceremony last week to help Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic organizers (VANOC) officials unveil the design of the torch to be carried along the route of the 10-day-long Paralympic Torch Relay this coming winter.

Lennea, a retired former member of the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team and a Paralympic Torchbearer last summer in Beijing, took part in the ceremony last Thursday (June 25) in Vancouver along with fellow skier Karolina Wisniewska of Vancouver. The two carried the distinctive steel blue torch, inspired by the Canadian winter landscape and the lines etched on ice by winter sports.

The relay is set to begin on March 3, 2010, in Ottawa and finish at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, site of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Games, on March 12. Further details of the route are still being finalized.

The 10-day journey will illuminate the extraordinary achievements of Paralympians and celebrate the endless possibilities of the human spirit through sharing the message of courage and determination embodied by the flame, officials said in a statement. The relay will involve an estimated 600 torchbearers and visit several celebration sites, officials said.

“The Paralympic Games are about celebrating unbelievable athletic performances and triumphing repeatedly over adversity. The flame — and the Paralympic Torch Relay — is a powerful physical reminder of this, of how a dream can spark a personal and emotional transformation in the pursuit of excellence,” said Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), who participated in the announcement along with other dignitaries.

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