Russia to Take Part in 2011 Baltic Cup

18 Mar 2011

The Standing Amputee Hockey Team from St. Petersburg, Russia, has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2011 Baltic Cup.

The tournament, hosted by the Estonian Amateur Hockey League (EHHL), will be held in Tallinn between 15 and 17 April.

Of the six participating teams, five will consist of able bodied players, and the Russian team will be the only one representing the sport of Standing Amputee Ice Hockey.

“This is the first time that we play an entire tournament against able bodied teams,” said Alexei Balakhontsev, Captain of the Russian Team.

However, single games between amputee and able bodied teams have been played before.

One such game took place in December 1999 in the USA, between the Russian amputee team led by Alexei and the amateur team of Boston Postal Servicemen, which is considered the beginning of Standing Amputee Hockey as a new sport for people with amputations and similar disabilities.

Since then, a format of a game of amputee players against able bodied teams was an important means for introducing and developing Standing Hockey in many countries all over the World. Currently, nine countries are members of the International Standing Hockey Federation (ISIHF).