The 2012 edition of the event, which runs for seven days, sees participants compete in the 13 sports of athletics, ball hockey, wheelchair basketball, boccia, wheelchair fencing, flag football, goalball, Para-cycling, gymnastics, wheelchair rugby, soccer, swimming and sitting volleyball.

The event is unique in that athletes range from all levels of performance from the seven disability groups of auditory, intellectual, speech and language, mental health, motor, pervasive developmental disorder and visual.

The event is supported by a host of partners, including the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), while there are a number of high profile spokespeople for the event including 14-time wheelchair racing Paralympic champion Chantal Petitclerc.

"Being involved in a project of this type allows me to give," said Petitclerc.

"Sports bring us a lot and it's good to ask ourselves what we can give in return."


The competition will take place in six venues across Montreal including the Maurice-Richard Arena (pictured), Collège Édouard-Montpetit, Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Claude-Robillard Sports Complex, Joseph-Charbonneau School and Île Notre-Dame.

The event first began in 1884 when 720 athletes took part and it has grown in each of the four following editions of the competition in 1993, 1998, 2002 and 2007.

The event will be presented by Hydro-Québec, the Government-owned public utility that oversees generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for all of Quebec.

A trailer for the event is available to view here.

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