1976 Summer Paralympics
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| Host city | Toronto, Ontario | ||
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| Nations participating | 32 | ||
| Athletes participating | 1,657 (1,404 men, 253 women) |
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| Events | 447 in 13 sports | ||
| Opening ceremony | August 4 | ||
| Closing ceremony | August 12 | ||
| Officially opened by | Pauline McGibbon | ||
| Paralympic stadium |
Woodbine Racetrack Centennial Park Stadium |
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The 1976 Summer Paralympics (branded as Torontolympiad - 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled) (French: Les Ve Paralympiques d'été) was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, in the province of Ontario, from August 4 to 12, 1976, marking the first time a Paralympics was held in Canada. The games began two days after the close of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
This was the first time global politics interfered with the Paralympic Games. "The problem stemmed from the logic that admitting a team from South Africa was to give implicit approval for its government's attitude towards segregation and racism." Although the South African team at the time was a multi-racial one, the Canadian government withdrew its half million dollar contribution and "matching amounts of funds were likely to be pulled out by the metropolitan government". The provincial government at Queen's Park eventually covered the tab.
Two groups, both with the same President - Ludwig Guttmann - were involved in the decision-making: the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled and the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation. Guttman and Bob Jackson, (Chairman of the Organising Committee) worked to convince the governments to honour their promises of support and were largely successful. Nevertheless, a number of teams withdrew, following on from the Montreal boycott by 25 countries, and were threatened with exclusion from future events. Later, efforts were made to develop a joint policy with the International Olympic Committee.
Rhodesia was not allowed to participate as the Canadian government refused to grant visas for the Rhodesian Paralympic team to attend the competition.
The opening of the 1976 games was held at Woodbine Race Track in north Etobicoke. There was no athletes' village, so competitors were housed at York University (Keele campus), University of Toronto (St. George Campus), and the CNIB (national headquarters in Toronto). Israeli athletes were housed at an undisclosed hotel due to security concerns. Closing ceremonies and outdoor events (mainly track and field) took place at Centennial Park Stadium. Centennial Gymnasium and Centennial Park's Olympic Pool (Etobicoke Olympium) were the other venues (for indoor and swimming events respectively).
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