Ice sledge hockey Sport Forum gathers countries

IPC Ice Sledge Hockey hosted its annual Sport Forum from 17-18 October, attended by 11 countries and observers in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The group received updates from the sport’s Technical Committee members on various topics such as competition, development, officiating and classification.

In particular, those attending were introduced to the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey statistical software, which is used during World Series games. The aim was to increase understanding about the system so that more countries will apply to have their national competitions sanctioned.

The meeting was followed by group sessions on competition/officiating, sponsorship and fundraising, and development (including club competitions; the evolution of youth camps; and developing women’s teams, sponsors and equipment).

The first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Youth Development Camp gets underway Wednesday (28 October) and will feature 24 aspiring players from eight countries.

On the Saturday evening (17 October), participants attended a dinner hosted by the Slovakian Paralympic Committee, who organised the meeting.

The final day featured a summary of the group discussions.

This included each country continuing to build the number of referees for national level games and a gathering of potential fixtures for the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Series for the 2015-16 season.

Also discussed were equipment rules and the availability of resources from the sport to help with coaching, including the distribution of educational videos.

The next IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Sport Forum is scheduled for the spring of 2016.