• Table of Contents
• Rules
• Requirements
• Equipment
• Location
• History

Overview

Sledge hockey is a version of hockey for male athletes with disabilities. Players compete using a two-bladed sledge and two playing sticks, one to propel themselves on the ice and the other to shoot, pass and handle the puck.

Top

Rules

The rules in sledge hockey are all but identical to those in ice hockey. The only significant difference is that sledge hockey teams suit up 15 players (rather than 22) for a game and the periods are 15 minutes rather than 20 minutes. The only significant difference is the players' equipment.

Top

Requirements

All athletes with a permanent disability in their lower bodies are able to participate in sledge hockey. Though the normal functioning of the athlete's upper body is assumed, he must have a visible disability in the lower part of the body. There is a minimum disability for athletes who compete in the sport.

Top

Equipment

Players sit on metal-framed sledges fitted with skate blades under the seat. The sledge must sit high enough above the ice for the puck to slide underneath. Straps are used to lock in the athlete's feet, knees, ankles and hips.

Each athlete carries two sticks – one for shooting, passing and stickhandling and the other to propel the sledge around the ice. In addition to his one stick, the goaltender can choose between using an additional stick with a blade or a trapper glove with teeth.

To protect against injury, sledge hockey players are outfitted with shoulder pads, shin guards, elbow pads and large padded gloves. They are required to wear a protective collar and helmets with a full cage or mask. Goalkeepers are similarly protected with leg and body pads as well as a helmet with a visor and a catcher's glove.

Top

Location

The fair pavilion Torino Esposizioni is situated in corso Massimo d'Azeglio, a central urban area. The sledge hockey facility will be a provisional structure set up inside the pavilion, which is the work of architect Pier Luigi Nervi. The venue will have 418 wheelchair accessible seats, 314 more than were available for the Olympic hockey tournament.

Top

History

Sledge hockey was developed at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm during the early 1960s by some Swedes who wanted to continue playing hockey despite their physical disabilities.

The men modified a metal frame sled, or sledge, with two regular-sized skate blades that allowed the puck to pass underneath. Using round poles with bike handles for sticks, the men played on a lake without any goaltenders.

By the end of the decade, Stockholm had a five-team league that included players with a disabled and able-bodied players.

In 1969, Stockholm hosted the first international sledge hockey match between a local club team and one from Oslo, Norway.

Teams form these two countries played each other once or twice a year throughout the 1970s.

In the next two decades, teams were established in other countries.

Sledge hockey was added to the Paralympics in 1994. Since then, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, United States, Japan and Estonia have dominated international competition but Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic, Russia and Korea have entered the fray.