Visa was a Global Partner of the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, helping send a team of 144 athletes and 90 support staff to Greece. As with the Torino 2006 Olympic Games, Visa Canada continues its ongoing support, funding our athletes and support staff at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic Summer and Winter Games are the ultimate competition for world-class elite athletes with a physical disability. The fundamental philosophy guiding the Paralympic movement is that athletes with disabilities should have opportunities to pursue their goals in sport equivalent to those of non-disabled athletes.

Originating in 1948 with the Games for People with Spinal Injuries in Aylesbury, England, the first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960. But it wasn't until Seoul, Korea in 1988 that the Parlaympic Games immediately followed the Olympic Games - utilizing the same facilities, village, and often sponsors and organizational structures.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is a private, non-profit charitable organization recognized by the International Paralympic Committee. It provides programs that support the Paralympic movement in Canada. Through high-performance sports, the CPC empowers those with a physical disability.