By Tom Degun

Ottobock ParalympicsApril 9 - Ottobock, the Official Technical Service provider for the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics, have confirmed the 30 orthopaedic technicians that will form the service team for the Games in Russia.


It is expected that the technicians will conduct hundreds of repairs to equipment and complete approximately 3,000 working hours at Sochi 2014, which are due to take place from March 7 until 16.

The 30 orthopaedic technicians are from across 11 countries, including three from the United Kingdom who were part of Ottobock's 80-strong technical service team that successfully supported London 2012.

The three British members of the technical service team are Ken Hurst, Rachel Neilson and Russell Pizzey.

"After experiencing London 2012, we are very excited to be part of the technical service team at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games," said Hurst, manager of the Ottobock Academy UK.

"We look forward to bringing all of that experience to Russia next March, as well as tackling repairs on very different equipment, such as the sledges used in ice sledge hockey."
 
Ottobock workshop 2Ottobock had an 80-strong technical service team in place for the London 2012 Paralympics

Two technical service workshops will be set up during Sochi 2014 - one in each of the Athletes' Villages - when they will open on March 1, a week before the Opening Ceremony.

On the opening day of competition, three satellite workshops will begin operating at the venues, together with a mobile unit for flexible support.

Computer-controlled logistics developed specifically for London 2012 will ensure replacement parts should always be available at Sochi 2014.

A container of workshop equipment and replacement parts will leave Ottobock's headquarters in Duderstadt, Germany, later this year and head for Sochi while representatives from the company have already visited the Russian city to inspect areas where the workshops will be based.

Ottobock will have only two days between the Olympics and the Paralympics next year to set up the workshops in full.

"The Paralympics are an emotional commitment for us as well," said Ottobock chief executive Professor Hans Georg Näder.

"The Games are part of our DNA."

A high-performance repair service is a mandatory component of the Paralympics Games and following London 2012, the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee gave Ottobock an exclusive contract for providing the service at the Games in Russia.

Ottobock has participated in all Paralympics since Seoul 1988 and in 2005, this resulted in a cooperation agreement with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

During London 2012, this cooperation agreement was extended through to Rio 2016.

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