Opening ceremonies today for 2010 Paralympics

Athletes have taken over Vancouver again.

Over 13-hundred have invaded the west coast for the 2010 Paralympic Games.

Competition starts Saturday, with the opening ceremonies set for Friday at 9:00 p.m ET.

Elmira's Jeff Snyder is coaching Canada's sledge hockey team, the defending gold medalists.

Snyder is also a former head coach of the Kitchener Rangers.

He tells 570 News his team has been in B.C. for the last week and you can definitely feel the energy leading up to the games.

Snyder says its a great opportunity to showcase their sport on the home soil.

In fact, all of Canada's sledge hockey games are sold out.

The other four sports are alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, and wheelchair curling.

A total of 43 nations are taking part in the games which wrap up on March 21st.