It was expected that the final Australian team would be between 10 and 12 athletes across two sports – para-alpine skiing and para-snowboard. There is the aim to finish in the top 15 nations on the medal table, as per the target set by the Australian Sports Commission’s Australia’s Winning Edge policy.[1] The team will be missing previous Winter Paralympic Games medallists - Cameron Rahles-Rahbula, Toby Kane and Jessica Gallagher.[1]
In March 2017, Nick Dean was appointed Chef de Mission. He previously served as Chef de Mission at the Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 Games and was Deputy Chef de Mission for a further three Winter and two Summer Paralympic Games between 1992 and 2012.[1]
The final team of 12 athletes and three sighted guides is the largest Australian team to compete at a Winter Paralympic Games.[9]
Joany Badenhorst was named the Opening Ceremony flag bearer, the first female Australian Winter Paralympian to be given this honour.[10]Melissa Perrine was given the honour of the Closing Ceremony flag bearer due to her competing at three Winter Games and winning two bronze medals in PyeongChang.[11]
Seven Network has an agreement with the Australian Paralympic Committee to provide coverage of Australia’s Winter Paralympic sport across Seven’s television, digital and print media assets to bring the stories of Australia’s winter Paralympic athletes to more Australians than ever before. Coverage will include a daily highlights show to be broadcast on 7MATE every morning, with an encore highlights on 7TWO and Channel 7 in the evening.[13] It is the first time a commercial television network has covered Australian athletes at the Winter Paralympics. During the Games, Channel Seven encountered criticism from former Paralympians and current athletes due to it limiting its coverage of the nine-day event to a one-hour highlights show the day after competition for Australian audiences.[14]
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