Ice Sledge Hockey

• Paralympic history
• About
• Equipment
• Ice sledge hockey in Sochi

Paralympic history

Two Swedish national teams played an exhibition match at 1976 Paralympic Winter Games in Örnsköldsvik (Sweden). However, Ice Sledge Hockey did not become an official event until 1994 Paralympic Winter Games in Lillehammer.

About

Six players (including goalkeeper) from each team are on the ice at once. The object is for one team to get the puck (a hard black rubber disc) past the other team’s goaltender and into the goal.

Instead of standing on skates, players sit on aluminum or steel sledges fitted with two blades. They grip two double-ended sticks, one in each hand. One end of the stick has a sharp pick that the players use to propel the sledge, the other has a curved blade to pass and shoot the puck. A regular Sledge Hockey game consists of three 15-minute periods.

Equipment

• Players are required to wear a helmet with a full mask as well as a protective collar or bib.
• Players are also encouraged to wear protective padding, including shoulder pads, shin guards, elbow pads and large padded gloves. In addition, the goalkeeper wears leg pads, body pads, a helmet with a visor and a catcher glove to protect the athlete from pucks flying up to 100 km/h.
• Made of vulcanized rubber or other approved material, the puck is 2.54cm thick, with a diameter of 7.62 cm and weighs 156 to 170 grams.
• Made of aluminum or steel, sledges are 0.6m to 1.2m in length with a curved front end and one of two different seating systems. The sledge is set on two blades, which are usually made of tempered steel and are each 3 mm thick.
• In Ice Sledge Hockey, players use two sticks with a hooked wooden blade at one end (for puck handling and ambidextrous shooting) and a pick at the other end. Each stick has a maximum length of 1m and is made of wood, plastic or aluminum/titanium.

Ice sledge hockey in Sochi

Ice sledge hockey tournament will be held at the “Shayba” Arena.

The “Shayba” Arena hosts 7,000 spectators and will later be used as a world-class multipurpose facility for ice hockey and other events as an entertainment center.