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Canadian Blind Hockey Showcase Games Taking Place During the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Calgary This Weekend
Two games featuring top players from the Canadian & US National Blind Hockey Teams will showcase the Para sport with the goal of furthering international growth.
(Calgary, AB) Canadian Blind Hockey is partnering with Hockey Canada to host two Blind Hockey showcase games during the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championship in Calgary this weekend. The games take place between 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm on both Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 at Winsport Arena on Joan Snyder Rink B.
The Calgary community is invited out to witness some of the best that the Para sport of Blind Hockey has to offer as both games are free and open to the public and will be broadcast live on the Canadian Blind Hockey YouTube channel.
“Hockey Canada is thrilled to partner with Canadian Blind Hockey to showcase the Para sport of Blind Hockey during the 2024 World Para Hockey Championship in Calgary,” said Dean McIntosh, Senior Vice-President of Revenue, Fan Experience and Community Impact for Hockey Canada. “As the competing Para hockey teams begin their quest to become world champions this weekend, we are excited to work with Canadian Blind Hockey to further the growth of Blind Hockey with the two games featuring top Canadian and American players at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park.”
The Para sport of Blind Hockey is played by athletes who are blind or visually impaired using an adapted puck that is larger than a traditional puck and makes noise. There are 15 members of the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team, 7 members of Team USA, as well as a dozen top prospects competing in this weekend’s showcase which will produce some of the fastest and most exciting hockey ever played.
Blind Hockey is played recreationally in 13 cities across Canada as well as the USA, Finland, Sweden, Russia, and England, however currently only Canada and the USA have national team programs. The goal of the event is to showcase the sport to the top six Para hockey nations in the world that do not currently have Blind Hockey teams – Czechia, China, South Korea, Italy, Japan and Slovakia – in order to encourage international growth leading to a Four-Nations Cup in 2026, a World Championships in 2028 and creating a pathway to the Winter Paralympic Games.
“Blind Hockey is new exciting Para sport that has grown all across the United States over the last decade and is now really starting to take off other countries as well” explains Matt Morrow, Executive Director of Canadian Blind Hockey. “We are thankful to Hockey Canada for providing this platform to showcase the game at one of the top international hockey events for athletes with a disability at the World Para Ice Hockey Championship in Calgary. Canadian Blind Hockey is looking forward to meeting with leaders from around the world as we look to grow international competition leading to the creation of our own World Championships for Blind Hockey, and paving the pathway to become the first team sport for athletes with visual impairments at the Winter Paralympic Games.”
2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships: Blind Hockey Showcase Schedule
Game # 1: Saturday, May 4
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Game # 2 – Sunday, May 5
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Winsport Arena
Canada Olympic Rd SW
Calgary, AB, Canada
Joan Snyder Rink B
Both games will be broadcast live on the Canadian Blind Hockey YouTube channel.
Canadian Blind Hockey is a charity that runs life changing Blind Hockey programming coast-to-coast for children, youth and adults who are blind or partially sighted. Our programs and events are made possible thanks to our generous donors and sponsors the CNIB Foundation, AMI, The Daniel Family Foundation, Electra Health, and Manion.
For more information, and to arrange interviews please contact Canadian Blind Hockey’s Marketing and Communications Manager Mel Carrey melcarrey@blindicehockey.com
