Justina Contenti photo
The SAIT Trojans Women’s Hockey team play a local Sledge Hockey team to raise awareness for the sport.
Sledge hockey take down
By Chris Kelly, Sports Editor
Sitting atop their division may give the women’s hockey team a lofty view, but on Jan. 7 they got a whole new look at their sport.
The Trojans traded in their skates for sleds as they hosted the Calgary Scorpions –a local sledge hockey team established over 20 years ago- for their third annual showdown.
“It’s amazing, just thinking of the upper-body strength that sledge hockey players have and how fast they can move,” said Tonya Faasse, the Trojans co-captain. “It gives you a completely different perspective of hockey.”
The Trojans battled valiantly against the Scorpion squad, but were defeated in a 2-1 result.
Jon Bateman, manager and team captain of the Scorpions for over a decade, brought his squad to SAIT to take on the women.
“It’s fun for both sides, and it’s an eye-opener for a lot of girls on the Trojans,” he said. “It makes them realize how difficult the sport is to play. By the middle of the first period, the girls are dead. They don’t move too well after a certain point.”
“There’s a high level of athleticism involved in being able to do the skating and turning and shooting a checking, everything you have to do from a seated position. This game (against the Trojans) is great in boosting awareness of the sport in general.”
Sledge hockey was developed in Norway in 1971 – the Norwegian word “sledge” roughly translates into the English word “sled”- to provide children with disabilities an opportunity to play organized sports on ice.
Players sit on sleds two to four feet long, equipped with two skate blades, and use two sticks with picks on one end and blades on the other to maneuver and handle the puck.
Canada is the defending Paralympic champion at sledge hockey after defeating Norway 3-0 for the gold medal at Torino in 2006. On Jan. 4 the Canadian team for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics was unveiled, consisting of 15 players from Eastern Canada, where Bateman says the sport is very popular.
In the Eastern leagues, as well and for the national and international teams, a person is required to have a physical disability to play, though the Scorpions allow anyone to join.
“Our club is open to both genders, all ages and people with or without disabilities,” said Bateman. “We leave it wide open, and we do have a good number of non-disabled athletes who play in our tournament.”
For the Trojan players the game is an eye-opener and a chance to experience what other athletes can do on the ice.
It’s something Faasse won’t soon forget.
“It’s a lot harder than you think. You don’t realize how weak your upper body is until you play sledge hockey, that’s for sure,” she said.