Times-Advocate, 1996-03-06, Page 13Sledge hockey club finishes first season
Brenda Burke T A staff
HENSALL - After three years of working towards
getting sledge hockey started in the area, the Huron
sledge hockey and ice picking club became a reality.
Bringing the sport to the Hensel! Arena last October
has allowed participation by special needs
athletes and their families who have
difficulty with winter travelling to areas such
as Ottawa, Hamilton, Peterborough, Niagara
Falls and Windsor, where sledge hockey
teams exist.
The 15 -member recreational co-ed club
consists of participants from Huron, Perth
and Middlesex counties. It is organized by a
parent/volunteer group in cooperation with
Huron County Home Care, which provides
occupational and physical therapists, the
Thames Valley Children's Centre, which
supplies a coach/recreational therapist, and
London Parks and Recreation, which has
donated eight sledges for use in the team's first season.
Sledge hockey, due to special equipment used, has
minor variations to traditional hockey. Players sit in
sledges and use short hockey sticks with metal picks in
order to maneuver on the ice. A sledge holds one player
and consists of a chair seat and seat belt attached to a sled
bottom equipped with metal blades that may be
exchanged for roller blades for street hockey or skis for
cross country skiing. Newer versions contain skate
blades, which make for easier mobility.
"Because it's a new sport we had to find the
equipment," explained club Treasurer Linda Markham.
"It's very expensive," she added. "Without the loan
from London Parks and Recreation, we never could have
started."
While a new sledge costs between $1,700 and $2,000,
"A to
have ne
bef
have e
that's
so any
used equipment averages about $425. A donation by
Grand Bend's Order of Alhambra Algarva No. 168
Caravan allowed the club to purchase three additional
sledges.
Parents of team players have also made sledges and
local service clubs have expressed an
interest in helping to construct additional
equipment this summer. -
"A lot of kids have never been on the
ice before...We have equipment that's
adaptable so anyone can play," said
Markham.
With fmancial support of service
clubs and other fundraising, the parent
board hopes to raise money for
additional gear. Their goal is to have 12
sledges at the start of next season.
Fatima Kosaric, the team coach and
recreational therapist from the Thames
Valley Children's Centre, heads a 50 -
minute practise each week with an average of eight to
10 team members. She has been responsible for getting
the club established with an aim that it "becomes a
community centred program."
Following a series of warm-up exercises in the
locker room of the Hensall Arena, the team is divided
into two groups, depending on skill levels, to practise a
number of drills including maneuvering in a sledge,
shooting and passing.
"It's a practise session within our own team,"
explained Kosaric, adding the group has not yet played
against other teams.
"Mobility is very important," she said, adding she
tries to keep the players of various skill levels very
active.
Kosaric would like the team to obtain 80 minutes of
t of kids
ver been
on the ice
ore... We
quipment
adaptable
one can
Play,"
Nell Salter and Tyler Markham participate in drills that teach them how to maneuver their
sledges.
Music video segment filmed
EXETER - Lorraine created
part of its first music video on
Feb. 24 at Gar's Bar & Grill.
The Drives Me Wild video will
be based on a CD of the same ti-
tle, which was released to radio in
February.
The video segment filmed at
Gar's is one of four scenes to be
shot. Lorraine Findlay, a lead vo-
calist, will also be filmed while
performing in studio and raceway
action clips will be recorded at
Grand Bend Motorplex and Lon-
don Motorplex in Sparta. The vid-
eo will be completed by April.
The National Hot Rod Associa-
tion will play the drag racing vid-
eo during upcoming race inter-
missions in the United States. The
band also plans to approach Much
Music.
This is the second time Lor-
raine has played in Exeter. The
band has performed at numerous
places including London's Rib
Fest, Toronto's Hard Rock Cafe
and the City TV Lunch Television
Show.
"You name it. We've played
everywhere; said Findlay, who
lives in London.
The four -member group, which
has released four singles and fair
cassettes during the past 10 years
with two of the singles doing well
in Europe in 1989 and 1990, also
plays as a duo and three-piece
band.
As well u performing int orig-
inal show, Lorraine covers pop
rock songs from the 70's 'to the
90's including hits from Heart
and Supertramp.
"Our aim is not to be doing cov-
er (hits) for 10 years," explained
Findlay, who feels making and
promoting a CD involves more
work than many realize, par-
ticularly when it comes to the
technical aspect.
"You can invest all this money
•in a video...kind of like investing
in a dream," she said. "There's
no guarantees."
She has invested $10,000 in the
CD alone.
"You've got to spend money to
break even," she explained. "It's
usually considered fun after it's
over."
ice time weekly, which is paid through registration fees
and fundraising, Her other goals include developing
players' skill development with an aim to participate in
tournaments next season. She's noticed improvements
in the athletes' physical skills and self-confidence after
their first six or seven weeks of practising.
Huron team member Neil Salter will participate in a
junior sledge hockey team tournament in Kitchener on
March 16 for the Classic Disabled Games in Windsor,
an annual event featuring various sports. Also, the
Sarnia sledge hockey team has been invited to play in
Hensall on March. 9.
"I think it's really important to raise the awareness
of the sport," said Kosaric, adding it raises players'
self-esteem and provides social interaction.
Maxine Hyde sees a future for sledge hockey and
knows the sport is important to her son, Alan.
"It gives him exercise and he gets a chance to play
hockey" she said. "He's a real hockey fanatic."
Although the team is open to participants from
preschoolers to young adults, Kosaric said separate age
groups will be formed once the club is more
established.
Sledge hockey, which originated 16 years ago in
Medicine Hat, Alberta, is now recognized as a
paralymplc sport. The Ontario Sledge Hockey
Association, which holds an exhibition game and
toumament schedule, is in the midst of being formed
and Canada has a national sledge hockey team. The
sport is well -represented through the International
Paralympic Committee, which holds both sledge
hockey and ice picking events, Sledge Hockey of
Canada and the International Sports Organization for
the Disabled.
"It's a sport that's really growing quickly because
it's getting more well known and there's more
equipment available," said Markham.
Lorraine
Findlay,
of the band
Lorraine,
was filmed
as part of a
music video
at Gar's Bar
& Grill on
Feb. 24.
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