IPC to live stream Sledge Worlds

The best eight teams in the sport will compete for the world title in Goyang, with the top five finishers qualifying directly for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Thursday (28 March) that it will live stream all of the games at next month’s 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Goyang, Korea.

The Championships will run from 12-20 April, and every match will be streamed live on the IPC’s YouTube channel.

Craig Spence, IPC Director of Communications and Media, said: “With less than one year to go until the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, viewers will have the chance to watch some of the top teams on the ice, and this will also provide those who have never seen the fast-paced sport before the chance to view it for the first time.”

The best eight teams in the sport will compete for the world title in Goyang, with the top five finishers qualifying directly for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games. The bottom three finishers will play in the Paralympic Qualification Tournament later this year.

The Championships will be organised by the Korea Ice Hockey Association for the Disabled, and the host nation’s team will look to repeat or better their surprise silver from last year’s event in Hamar, Norway.

Korean ice sledge hockey captain Min-Su Han said: “Ice sledge hockey is not yet a popular sport in Korea so public do not know much about us but we’re trying hard to let people know about ice sledge hockey through our media channels.

“Many people expect a lot from us at these World Championships in Goyang since we will be fighting to get to the Paralympics. We need to get good results from this A-Pool so that we can then expect good results at the Paralympics next year.”

The toughest competition for Korea will come from the USA, the defending world and Paralympic champions, who are led by forward Alexi Salamone, defender Taylor Chace and goalkeeper Steve Cash.

Cash commented: “I’m pretty confident going into the World Championships and feeling pretty good. I feel like my performances have been better than ever with the national team.”

Last year’s bronze medallists, Canada, will also be favoured to go far in the tournament, while Russia will make their first A-Pool appearance with less than one year to go until the Sochi 2014 Games.

The Czech Republic, Italy, Norway and Sweden will round out the field.

For more information on the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships, please visit the event website.

You can also follow the action from the Championships on Twitter @IPCISH and like the sport’s Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/IceSledgeHockey.

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Sweden's Niklas Ingvarsson, left, embraces teammate Per Kasperi after upsetting Germany to move to the finals at the 2012 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey B Pool World Championships.