Canvelo at the Sportiada's first Tandem Biking COmpetition

The Sportiada in Eilat is Israel's biggest sporting event.  The annual event, sponsored by the Hapoel Sport Association, is attended by thousands of athletes from dozens of companies and businesses throughout the country who compete in a large number of individual and team sports.  This year's Sportiada featured a new event: a two-day tandem cycling competition.  This is the first time in its 36-year history that the Sportiada has featured an event for athletes with disabilities.  The tandem race consequently constitutes a major landmark in the history of sports in Israel.  Approximately 50 couples participated in the race - an amazingly large number of tandem bikes even by international standards.  
The 100 tandem riders included cyclists from the three Central, Sharon, and Northern Canvelo cycling clubs, as well as riders from "Aynayim L'Shnayim" (Eyes for Two) - a group from the upper Galilee and "Galgal Or" (Wheel of Light) from the Lighthouse for the Blind near Haifa.
The 10 and 20 kilometer routes in the two races were equally challenging to those designated for single bike riders, and demanded high levels of technique and skill.  Riders had to cope with the rugged desert terrain that featured sand, gravel, steep climbs, dizzying downhill slopes, crevasses, and boulders.
Aside from the excitement, sportsmanship, and camaraderie that prevailed during the competition itself, the tandem biking event in the Sportiada made a significant impact upon the thousands of athletes gathered in Eilat for the event.  The presence of a dozen guide dogs at the opening ceremony drew a great deal of attention - exposing the thousands of athletes to the idea that people with disabilities can excel in sports and be part of the Sportiada as equal participants.
The introduction of the tandem cycling competition to the Sportiada was promoted by Brig. Gen. (ret) Moti Regev, founder of Canvelo,together with Yoram Aranstein, CEO of the Hapoel Sport Association, Prosper Ben-Hemo, president of Hapoel, and Avi Nisankorn, president of the Histadrut and Guy SImchi, a graduate of the IGDCB and head of the department for employing persons with disabilities in the Histadrut.