Paralympics 2010 Ice Sledge Hockey: Rules, Schedule

by Yuliya Talmazan | March 10, 2010 at 04:43 pm

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Paralympics Re-ignite Vancouver's Olympic Spirit

The Olympic excitement is not over in Vancouver. The 2010 Paralympic Games are starting on March 12. The Games will feature five Palalympic sports, including alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.

Arguably, ice sledge hockey is one of the most crowd-drawing events at the Paralympic Games. Already tickets for sledge hockey gold and bronze-medal match are not available. Same goes for semifinals and even some of the playoffs. Organizers claim the surge in ticket sales is the result of people's desire to relive their Olympic experience. And, Paralympics are a perfect cure for post-Olympic blues. Still, ice sledge hockey seems to be something few people know a lot about.

So What Is Ice Sledge Hockey?

In essence, ice sledge hockey is the Paralympic version of ice hockey. Athletes with disability in the lower extremities are eligible to compete. The sport was invented in Sweden in early 1960s. It involves two standard ice hockey skates built into a metal sledge. Athletes use short poles to move across the ice. The poles are double-ended - one end of the stick has sharp pick that allows an athlete to propel themselves, the other end has a curved blade to shoot the puck. The sport became part of the Paralympic program in 1994. The play time is shorter in ice sledge hockey. Instead of conventional 20 minutes, each of the three periods lasts 15 minutes. Eight teams compete in the tournament.

Canada's ice sledge hockey team is favoured to win. Canadian men's team won gold in 2006 in Torino. For the first time in the Olympic history of the sport, female ice sledge hockey players will be allowed to participate. Qualified teams will be able to add female athletes to their roster.

The inclusion of female athletes for sledge hockey is a step in the direction of promoting greater female participation in this sport and the Paralympic Winter Games in general.

The tournament designation will change from a men's to a mixed tournament, and teams may bring up to 16 athletes if at least one is female.

Schedule of ice sledge hockey.