As you may know, sledge hockey in Manitoba is brought to our community through the efforts of Sledge Hockey Manitoba and Manitoba Possible. Manitoba Possible helps introduce the sport and offers a safe place for Recreational sledge hockey in Manitoba. They are also a huge help in supplying equipment for our athletes. SHMB offers our athletes the chance to play sledge hockey at a competitive level against other teams and provinces locally and outside the province.

​Below is a flow chart to help visually see how Sledge Hockey in Manitoba is structured.

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MANITOBA EXPRESS
​(JUNIOR)

​This is for all our athletes age 16 and under unless approved by sledge hockey MB coaches and board members to age advance.  The Junior Express is a competitive traveling team

MANITOBA EXPRESS (INTERMEDIATE)​

This is for athletes who have advanced beyond the junior level.  It serves as a development team designed to improve players' skills and help individuals progress to the provincial team.
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PROVINCIAL TEAM
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​This program is the highest level of sledge hockey for players in Manitoba.  All players in this program participate in the advanced level; practice sessions are geared towards player who can compete at a high level.

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What is Sledge Hockey?

-- Photos courtesy of paralympic.ca

Since its debut at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Games, the Paralympic version of ice hockey has quickly become one of the largest attractions for spectators. It is fast-paced, highly physical and played by male and female athletes with a physical impairment in the lower part of the body. The sport is governed by the IPC with co-ordination by the IPC Ice Hockey Technical Committee.

It follows the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) with modifications. Instead of skates, players use double-blade sledges that allow the puck to pass beneath. Players use two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing and a blade-end for shooting.

Competition description

As in ice hockey, each team attempts to outscore its opponent by shooting the puck across the ice and into the opposing team's goal while preventing the opposing team from scoring. Six players (including the goalkeeper) from each team are on the ice at one time.

Double-blade sledges that allow the puck to pass underneath replace skates, and the players use sticks with a spike-end and a blade-end. Therefore, with a quick flip of the wrist, the players are able to propel themselves using the spikes and then play the puck using the blade-end of the sticks. A player may use two sticks with blades in order to facilitate stick handling and ambidextrous shooting. Ice sledge hockey games consist of three 15-minute periods.

---- Sourced from the International Paralympic Committee

National Programs

Currently there are three National level programs in Canada for sledge hockey. First, there is Hockey Canada's National Team, which travels to the Paralympic Games and to World Championships. Hockey Canada also has a National Development Team, which has seen three Manitoba athletes participate in that program. Lastly, there is a Women's National Team, which is working to develop the female aspect of the sport. 

To learn more about these programs, please click the links below.

National Sledge Hockey Team and Development Team

National Women's Team