Nicholson is one of six nominations for the three places available on the Council, which is the collective voice of Paralympic athletes within the IPC, when the election takes place during the Paralympics in Vancouver in March.

Nicholson has been a member of Canada's sledge hockey team since 1991 having become a paraplegic following a car accident in 1987 after a car accident on the night of his graduation dance.

He captained Canada to victory at Turin in 2006, having previously claimed bronze at Lillehammer in 1994 and silver in Nagano in 1998.

Nicholson, who also carried the flag for Canada at the opening ceremony in Turin, will be one of the favourites to be elected, along with Gerd Schönfelder, a German skier who has won 17 Paralympic medals, including 12 gold, in a career stretching back to Albertville in 1992.

Eskil Hagen, a member of Norway's sledge hockey team that won the silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, and Poland's Katarzyna Rogowiec, a cross-country skier who won two gold medals in Turin four years ago, will be standing for re-election to the Council.

Rogowiec is currently the Council's vice-chair.

The other candidates are France's Yannick Bourseaux and America's William Stewart, who are both cross-country skiers.

The elections will take place from March 10-19 at the voting centres in the Vancouver and Whistler Paralympic Villages.

The successful candidates will be announced during the closing ceremony of the Games.

The Council works to ensure effective athlete representation on all IPC committees and commissions as well as to create other opportunities for athlete representation both within and outside the IPC, including cross-representation on the IOC Athletes’ Commission, a position currently held by Egypt's Rania Elwani.