| Peggy Assinck | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | May 8, 1983 Peterborough, ON, Canada | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| National team |  Canada | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2008–present | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Peggy Assinck (born May 8, 1983) is a Canadian ice sledge hockey athlete and neuroscientist. [1] She competed in the inaugural IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014.
Assinck was born with spina bifida and became paralyzed at the age of 11, following a non-traumatic spinal injury. Prior to this, she was involved in various sports. [2]
Assinck completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of British Columbia in 2017. Her doctoral research was conducted at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) spinal cord injury Research Centre.
Assinck's main interest is in spinal cord injuries (SCI), with a focus on how the central nervous system functions and the biological changes that may occur after a spinal cord injury. Her two areas of focus are to determine how the host cells contribute to repair after the injury, and the use of cell transplantation as a potential therapy for spinal cord injury. [3]
Her passion for this area of research stemmed from her time spent in the hospital during her first diagnosis. [3]
Assinck has played sledge hockey for 19 years, her first experience with the sport came during her recreational therapy following her injury. Her passion for sledge hockey progressed over time, and she has been on the Canadian Women's National Sledge Hockey Team for 11 years. [2]
Assinck joined the Canada women's national ice sledge hockey team in 2007, and has been an advocate for this sport ever since. She competed at the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup from November 7–9, 2014 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Assinck was part of the Canadian squad that earned a silver medal. [4]
Assinik travelled to Sochi Russia to compete in the 2014 Winter Paralympic games. During this time, she accompanied a team of researchers from ICORD to the games to research autonomic functions in Paralympic athletes who have spinal cord injuries. [3]
Assinck won a City of Vancouver Accessible City Award for her involvement in the Learn to Play Sledge Hockey Program. [5]
Assinck's role as Learn: Play Coordinator for sledge hockey at SportAbility combines her passion for the sport with her research in spinal cord injury rehabilitation to help youth get involved in accessible sport. [6] Her work aims to encourage individuals both with and without disability to play sledge hockey to increase the reach of adaptable sports.
Within this position, Assinck has been involved in the development of sledge hockey programs around Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. [6]
Within the community, Peggy helps facilitate local sledge hockey team development to help expose people with a wide range of abilities to this sport. [3] Stemming from her childhood involvement in a variety of sports, Assinck quickly took up the sport of sledge hockey during her recovery. She then began advocating for more individuals to get involved in sledge hockey for rehabilitative purposes. [7]
2016 Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute Top Graduating Doctoral Student Award [8]
2016 City of Vancouver Accessible City Award, individual category [5]
2015 Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute Rising Star Award [9]
2014 Rick Hansen Difference Maker Award: [10] On Sunday, September 14, 2014, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex visited the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre. During the visit, Assinck was among two recipients of the Difference Maker awards, presented by Rick Hansen. [10]
Richard Marvin Hansen is a Canadian track and field athlete, activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury and became a paraplegic. Hansen is most famous for his Man in Motion World Tour, in which he circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for charity. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.
Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and played under similar rules to standard ice hockey. Players are seated on sleds and use special hockey sticks with metal "teeth" on the tips of their handles to navigate the ice. Playing venues use an ice hockey rink.
Vancouver General Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facilities. VGH is Canada's third largest hospital by bed count, after Hamilton General Hospital, and Foothills Medical Centre.
Spinal Cord Injury BC is a not-for-profit organization that helps people with spinal cord injuries and related injuries adjust, adapt and thrive by providing answers, information and community experiences in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games and hosted in the same city. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Games. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games began in 1904.
Dean Bergeron is a Paralympic athlete from Canada who competed mainly in category T52 sprint events in four Paralympic Games and is pursuing a career as an actuary.
The ice sledge hockey competition of the 2010 Winter Paralympics was held at the UBC Winter Sports Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 13 March to 20 March 2010.
Para ice hockey at the Winter Paralympics has been held since the 1994 Winter Paralympics, when it was known as ice sledge hockey.
Taylor Chace is an American ice sledge hockey player.
Norway sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 27 Norwegian athletes competed in four disciplines; the only sport Norway did not compete in is alpine skiing.
The Vancouver Cantata Singers (VCS) is an auditioned Canadian choir in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1959 by organist and conductor Hugh McLean.
Graeme Murray is a Canadian ice sledge hockey player. He contracted a virus when he was three, which spread to his spinal cord, causing paralysis.
Sledge hockey classification is the classification process for people who play ice sledge hockey. The classification system is governed by the International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey.
Kevin Rempel is a Canadian sledge hockey player.
Nina Nissly is a women's ice sledge hockey player that compete for the United States women's national ice sledge hockey team. Born in Skupina, Russia, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in her infancy. Of note, she was a member of the US roster that competed at the inaugural IPC Ice Sledge Hockey International Women's Cup, capturing the gold medal.
The Canada women's national ice sledge hockey team is the national team representing Canada in women's international sledge hockey. The team competed at the IPC International Cup and now competes at the Para Ice Hockey Women's World Challenge. The team currently receives funding from the Hockey Canada Foundation through grants which enables it to run a grassroots development program.
Jessie Gregory is a Canadian ice sledge hockey. A member of the Canada women's national ice sledge hockey team since 2011, she competed in the first-ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014.
Danica McPhee is an athlete participating in women's ice sledge hockey. A member of the Canada women's national ice sledge hockey team since 2014, she competed in the first-ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014.
Mary Bartlett Bunge is an American neuroscientist currently researching a cure for paralysis at University of Miami, where she is a Professor of Cell Biology.
Christy Gardner is an athlete that participates in women's ice sledge hockey. A member of the United States women's national ice sledge hockey team, she competed in the first-ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women's International Cup in 2014. Prior to competing with the national women's team, Gardner served in the United States Armed Forces.
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