WHAT IS SLED HOCKEY?

Sled hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sled hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center. It is currently one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games.

Two men from Sweden designed the sled for ice sled hockey in the 1960s because they wanted to continue to play hockey despite their physical disability. Their design included two skate blades on a metal frame that allowed the puck to pass underneath. They completed the ensemble by including 2 round poles with bike handles for sticks. Although there are many restrictions to the measurements and weight of the sleds used in the Paralympic Games, not a whole lot has changed from the original design to the ones that exist today.

Despite the initial decline of interest after the invention of sledge hockey, competition between sled hockey teams started up in 1969 that included five teams out of Europe. In 1981, Great Britain established their first sled hockey team, and that was shortly followed by Canada in 1982. It was not until 1990, the United States developed their first ice sled hockey team and sled hockey continued to expand when Estonia and Japan developed their teams in 1993.

International ice sled hockey became an official event in 1994 for the beginning of the Paralympic Games in Lillehammer, with Sweden claiming the first gold medal for ice sled hockey competition. In 1998 the following Paralympic Games in Nagano, Japan, Norway won the gold medal as Canada and Sweden took the silver and bronze respectively. For the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, the gold medal belonged to the United States with Norway and Sweden finishing second and third. The 2006 Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy saw the gold medal go to Canada, silver to Norway and bronze to the United States.

Amelia Park is proud to be the home to a junior sled hockey team, the Springfield Sliders, and an adult sled hockey team, the Western Mass Knights.