Paralympic sledge hockey players push themselves to win. If they push too hard, they know they are protected because first aid workers have automatic external defibrillators on hand.
Some 300 defibrillators were donated to the Games by the company Medtronic, costing between $1,500 and $35,000 each.
As the Olympics and Paralympics come to an end, those defibrillators will find a new home -- 350 groups from across Canada have applied to get the equipment for free.
VANOC medical director Dr. Mike Wilkinson said he hopes the defibrillators will save a few lives.
"If the legacy coming out of the Games is that we're saving lives, then we've achieved what we set out to do," Wilkinson said.
So far, the demand has surprised even the organizers.
"They were slow to come in, and then we got overwhelmed," Medtronic's Shelly Parker told CTV News.
Some 20 public schools from across the Lower Mainland are hoping to receive one.
But the opportunity appears to be passing North Vancouver school district by.
Years after refusing an offer of a free defibrillator upon the death of 15-year-old David Badger at Argyle secondary, none of the district's schools even applied for the equipment.
"People tend to be afraid of it, so they tend to throw up a few hurdles," Parker said. "The cost of the defibrillator, or the cost of training, or the liability…. But all of those things are very easily taken care of."
With a report from CTV's Jon Woodward
