When you think of Vancouver, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe landscapes, hiking, Tim Hortons, cold weather. All of those make perfect sense, but one thing people will definitely always think of is hockey, right? This city loves the sport, and even though I’m not from here, I feel like everyone was born with skates on their feet, because it’s so difficult, but everyone makes it look so easy.
Even though it’s such a beloved and widely practiced sport, there are things that go unnoticed, like Para Ice Hockey. Have you ever heard of it?
I really had no idea this sport existed until I went with a close friend to watch a practice session. She lives in a family home where one of the children has no mobility from the waist down. The girl is passionate about hockey, and one day she invited me to watch the practice. I didn’t quite know what to expect, and I left completely transformed.
Para Ice Hockey is literally the game of hockey as we know it, but adapted for athletes with physical disabilities. What’s really cool is that anyone can join, including people without disabilities, so if you have a sibling, friend, or partner who wants to go, you can do more than just stay there with them; you can also participate. The sport is for everyone, from children to adults, experienced players, beginners, and so on.
In this modality, no one uses skates; it’s as if you sit in a sled adapted for the game, while with two sticks in each hand, you push your body. The stick serves both to assist in locomotion and to kick the puck.
Just thinking about it, it doesn’t seem like it, but it’s still a fast and intense game like an actual hockey game.
SportAbility offers Para Ice Hockey in British Columbia, and they have several athletes who go there both just for fun and to train. The organization has athletes who compete at all levels: national, regional, and even international. And besides Para Ice Hockey, they also offer training for Boccia, Power Soccer, and CP/Para Soccer.
Just watching a training session, you already understand. It’s much more than the sport; it’s the feeling of being able to play something you admire so much. Being there that day changed my view of hockey and only made me more passionate about the strength of Canadian culture in relation to the sport.