Hello everyone, this is Giselle Velazquez of The Ice Garden. This week, women’s sled hockey takes center stage as the inaugural World Para Ice Hockey (WPIH) Women’s World Championship is underway in Slovakia. The tournament runs until August 31.
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Sled hockey, also known as sledge or Para Ice Hockey, is an ice hockey sport played sitting in a sled with two sticks that help the players skate and brake. The sport is for players who have lower body impairments. The game play, rules and pace are the same as standup hockey — and the quality is too.
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Six teams are taking part in this first-ever Worlds including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Australia and a team made up of players from nine different countries called Team World.
The World Championship is a dream come true for every athlete on the ice because it helps set up the women’s game for a potential debut at the 2030 Paralympic games.
“To see the puck drop in the opening game of the first-ever Women’s World Championships will be a huge moment for our sport – from players and officials to coaching staff, classifiers and organizers,” World Para Ice Hockey senior manager, Michelle Laflamme said to Paralympics.org.
“But we want to look back in ten years from now and see this week as the beginning of the journey to make women’s Para ice hockey a global sport.”
Sled hockey has existed since the 1960s when it was created at a Swedish rehabilitation center as a direct descendant of ice hockey. A group of Swedes, despite their physical impairment, wanted to keep playing hockey. In the 1970s the sport caught on and more countries began to establish teams. Canada established its team in 1982 while the U.S. team began in 1990.
The sport was part of an exhibition match at the inaugural 1976 Paralympic games before becoming an official Paralympic event in 1994. U.S. men’s national sled hockey has won five gold medals and includes both a development team and a national team in order to keep players ready for all the tournaments the team competes in. Canada has six medals in total from the Games including one gold and three silvers. Sweden has three medals, including one gold, while Japan has won a silver medal.
While the men’s side has been successful, the women haven’t had the same opportunities. There have been fewer tournaments, fewer teams and less accessibility. Take the World Championship for example — the inaugural tournament is finally happening in 2025 while the men’s championship began in 1996, two years after the addition of sled hockey in the Paralympics.
The purpose of fighting for the women’s World Championship is to push for women’s sled hockey to be included in the 2030 Paralympics. The women have had fewer chances to compete at the games for various reasons. The sport is technically coed since the 2010 Paralympic Games, but most teams have never named a woman to their team. Men’s sled hockey at the Paralympics has had three women participate. The teams are able to pick a woman for the team while not losing a spot for another men’s player but only Norway and China have ever taken that route.
Brit Mjaasund Oejen made her debut in the 1994 games for Norway and Lena Schroeder competed for Norway in 2018. China’s Yu Jing became the third woman to be named to a Paralympic sledge team in 2022. These are incredible milestones that deserve the praise and attention they have received, but it feels past time to include women’s sledge in the Olympics.
So the women have forged their own path and continue to do so. The World Challenge was the precedent to the World Championship and that event ran from 2022 to 2024. In those three events, the U.S. won three straight golds. Canada’s team finished with silver in all three tournaments as well. The two countries were joined by two other teams each year, so a jump to six teams for this first World Championship is a big deal.
The countries are doing what they can to grow the game. The U.S. and Canada held a sled drive — where donated sleds were given to other countries to help kickstart their programs — during the 2023 World Challenge. That sense of community is huge for a sport that has struggled for so long for the same opportunities as its male counterpart. This World Championship also includes the debut of Australia in sledge play — a country with a full team taking part in an official and sanctioned Worlds is another milestone for the sport. The goal is to reach eight teams to be considered for the Paralympics but, with the growth both in teams and in participation, that goal may be reached far sooner than imagined.
Since 2022, women’s participation in World Para Ice Hockey has increased from 0.01% to 19%. That jump is another source of momentum for a sport quickly growing and changing. If you happen to catch a game during Worlds, you will see a video explaining sled hockey and encouraging others to join the sport in order to help its continued growth.
There are some elite players playing on this international stage in the days since the tournament began. Kelsey DiClaudio of Team USA scored five goals in the second game of the tournament for the U.S.. The aforementioned Schroeder scored a hat trick in less than two minutes in Norway’s first game. Canada’s Raphaëlle Tousignant had a hat trick in Canada’s 10-0 win against Team World. Though Australia was shut out in their first game against the U.S., goaltender Erika Gosney put on a great performance finding solid ways to stop the strong U.S. offense.
Sports are about community for fans and players alike and it’s also about inclusivity and accessibility. Sled hockey is the next sport putting itself on the map by setting the standard for what can be accomplished by a system of players and programs that want to see a sport they love thrive.
The World Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship runs until Aug. 31. For information on upcoming games head here. You can watch every game live on the Paralympics Youtube channel.
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Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible.
Around the (mostly sled) hockey world
You can read more about the World Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship from this list of recently published stories:
Erica McKee is ready to bring World Para Hockey to the next level — The Ice Garden
Team USA’s Kelsey DiClaudio is chasing gold at Para Worlds — The Ice Garden
Nicole Haase of The Victory Press wrote about the “women’s ice hockey paradox” which you can read here.
The Hockey News has a story on Canada’s captain Alanna Mah that you can read here.
THN also has a story on Monica Quimby, a member of Team USA: Lightning co-Captain Monica Quimby heads to first-ever Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Championships
Lastly, something a little different for you but still in the women’s hockey world. Syd Kerr recently wrote a guest piece for TIG on the possibility — and the need — for specialty jerseys in the PWHL
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