IPC to ticket ice sledge hockey semi-finals for media

The gold-medal game on Saturday (15 March) at 20:00 (MSK) will also be ticketed for media.

For the first time ever at a Paralympic Games – Summer or Winter – the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is ticketing a sporting event for media due to the high-level of interest in ice sledge hockey at Sochi 2014.

Both the Russia-Norway and Canada-USA ice sledge hockey semi-finals on Thursday (13 March) are expected to be covered by several major international media outlets, and therefore press will need a ticket to enter Shayba Arena.

The IPC also ticketed the Russia-USA ice sledge hockey Group B match on Tuesday (11 March), which attracted a full house of reporters, leaving several having to cover the event from outside the venue. The game, which was won by Russia 2-1, resulted in worldwide media coverage, including headline stories by RIA Novosti, Associated Press, New York Times and USA Today. Nearly every broadcast rights-holder at Sochi 2014 also had a presence in the stadium for the game, with a packed interview zone after the match.

The first semi-final matchup at 13:00 (MSK) will pit the host nation against a Norwegian team that have medalled at every Paralympics in the sport, with the second game at 20:00 (MSK) showcasing an all-North American rivalry between the world’s top two ranked teams.

The gold-medal game on Saturday (15 March) at 20:00 (MSK) will also be ticketed for media.

Keith Blase, IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Sport Technical Committee Chairman, said: “The attention drawn to ice sledge hockey by media around the world has provided us a major platform to move the sport forward and to provide it with the resources to grow in the years to come.”

Media on site in Sochi interested in covering the semi-finals can pick up their tickets at the IPC’s office in the Main Press Centre beginning at 9:00 on Thursday.