Special hockey is a version of ice hockey adapted for athletes with a developmental disability or cognitive disorder. [1] It differs from ice sledge hockey, which was developed instead for athletes with a physical disability. [2] Special hockey is sometimes known as adaptive hockey, and emphasizes fun, teamwork, social interaction, and providing an environment adapted to the ability of the participant. [2] [3] It provides an opportunity to be accepted and part of a team, that otherwise would not exist. [4] [5] Special hockey programs are open to males and females of all ages, not just children. [1] [5] Special hockey uses standard ice hockey equipment, has modified ice hockey rules such as no offside, icing, or penalties, and is a non-contact sport without scores and standings. [1] [3]
The sport is organized by volunteers and nonprofit organizations, and relies on sponsorships, and fundraising, for the majority of costs. [1] [5] Programs originated in Canada and the United States. North American clubs are affiliated with Canadian Special Hockey Association, and the American Special Hockey Association, which are in turn affiliated with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey respectively. [1] USA Hockey offers a grant to assist new and existing special hockey programs. [6]
Special Hockey International organizes an annual international tournament for Special Hockey clubs in North America and Europe. [7]
Ice hockey is a contact winter team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It is one of the fastest team sports on ice belonging to a small group of four ice skating team sports, irrespective of their associated variants, which now includes bandy, ringette, and rinkball. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender.
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are variations on existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have an able-bodied equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 700,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports. It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to South Carolina and west to Missouri. Most or all members belong to at least one other athletic conference.
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing an able-bodied sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations, and many other disabilities. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide. FIBA has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
Sledge hockey is an adaptation of ice hockey designed for players who have a physical disability. 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.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed at the 2006 Winter Paralympics held in Turin, Italy. The team was known by it shortened name of Great Britain, for identification purposes.
Power Hockey also known as Powerchair Hockey is a competitive, fast-paced hockey game based on the use of a power wheelchair. The foundation of the sport derives from ice hockey and floor hockey, but with adapted rules to enable people with disabilities, who use a power wheelchair, to play and be active in a competitive team setting. The sport is also referred to as Electric Wheelchair Hockey or Electric Wheelchair Floorball in various parts of the world.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
Powerchair Football, also known as Power Soccer, is a variant of association football for people with physical disabilities. Players use specially designed powered wheelchairs in order to maneuver and kick/hit an oversized football. The game is played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court. Two teams of four players use powerchairs equipped with footguards to attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch (330 mm) football in an attempt to score goals.
Ringette is a girl's non-contact winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. The game objective is to score more goals than the opposing team. Each goal is worth one point. Barring any penalties, teams have a total of six skaters on the ice at one time, one of whom is a goaltender. Body checking is not allowed whatsoever at any age level, boarding qualifies as a penalty, and fighting has a zero-tolerance policy. High-sticking is penalized.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games. The Winter Paralympics are also hosted by the city that hosted the Winter Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Winter Paralympics. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
The United States ice hockey structure includes elements from traditional American scholastic high school and college athletics, affiliated and independent minor leagues, the unique "major junior" leagues, as well as other various amateur junior and youth hockey leagues. The hierarchy of the ice hockey league system forms a pyramid with many regional minor and development leagues making up the base of the pyramid and a linear progression through the professional minor leagues leading to the National Hockey League at the top of the pyramid.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 50 U.S. competitors took part in all five sports. The American delegation included five former members of the U.S. military, including a veteran of the Iraq War and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
Meghan Duggan is an American former ice hockey forward who played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning two silver medals; she was the captain of the U.S. team at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where she won a gold medal. She also represented the United States at eight Women's World Championships, capturing seven gold medals and one silver medal. Duggan played collegiate hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers between 2006 and 2011. After her senior season (2010–11), Duggan was named the winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the top women's ice hockey player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). After her career at Wisconsin, Duggan was the team's all-time leading scorer. She was drafted 8th overall by the Boston Blades in the 2011 CWHL Draft.
Todd Nicholson, is a Canadian former ice sledge hockey player. He was a member of the 2010 Paralympic Sledge Ice Hockey team, the fourth Paralympic games that Nicholson participated in. He announced his retirement from the Canadian ice sledge hockey team on September 7, 2010. Nicholson now serves on the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board as the Athletes' Representative.
Intellectual disability sport classification is a classification system used for disability sport that allows people with intellectual disabilities to fairly compete with and against other people with intellectual disabilities. Separate classification systems exist for the elite athlete with a disability side affiliated with the Paralympic movement and Virtus, and the sports for all model affiliated with Special Olympics. People with intellectual disabilities have issues with conceptual skills, social skills and practical skills. They have IQs of 75 points or lower, limitations in adaptive behaviour and their disability manifested and was documented prior to turning 18 years of age.
Special Hockey International is an international organization for special hockey clubs and teams. It is a non-governmental organization, that promotes ice hockey in an inclusive environment for athletes with a developmental disability, and organizes an annual international tournament for its member clubs. It was founded in 1992, by Pat Flick. Originating in North America, the majority of its members are from the United States, and Canada. Special Hockey International has begun to expand into Europe. As of 2019, Norway has three teams and the United Kingdom has two clubs, and Denmark and Sweden have one club each.
Jeffrey Richard Bourns is a retired American amputee tennis player. He is the first person in American history to compete in International adaptive standing tennis tournaments. He helped pioneer the growth and development of adaptive standing tennis.