Blind Hockey
To qualify as a blind hockey player, one must be classified as legally blind.
According to USA Hockey’s disabled disciplines handbook, “totally blind
athletes play goal (or defense); lower sighted athletes play defense; and
higher sighted athletes play forward.”
While it may seem impossible to many for a legally blind person to be able
to navigate their way on the ice in skates chasing after a puck, disabled
hockey has developed tremendously over the years, allowing certain
modifications to be made to gear and equipment.
For example, blind hockey players use a puck that is larger and designed to
move slower than a normal hockey puck – oh, and it makes noise. The large
size and slower speed of the puck allow low sighted and visually impaired
players keep after the puck. The rattling noise that the puck makes as it
moves across the ice also allows totally blind players to track the puck from
anywhere on the ice.
In addition to puck adaption, the goal nets are also designed to be a foot
shorter at three feet tall to keep the puck lower on the ice so that all players
can continue to hear it, even as it’s being shot into the goal.
Other blind hockey regulations set by USA Hockey include:
being able to score. This provides both the low vision defense and
the goalie an extra opportunity to track the puck.
has been completed and the attacking team is eligible to score.
communication from on ice officials. The game is played with
standard IIHF safety protocols including no-touch icing, and
crease violations to ensure utmost player safety.
While blind ice hockey has been played in Canada since the 1970s, the
United States has only recently started regulating the sport, which was
introduced on American soil in 2014 for the first ever Blind Hockey Summit
in New York.
Since then, USA Hockey and other hockey organizations have promoted
and continue to develop the discipline so that all people, regardless of their
physical abilities, can enjoy the sport of hockey.
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Hockey
According to USA Hockey, a deaf or hard of hearing hockey player is
one who has been diagnosed with a hearing loss. Like blind hockey,
certain adaptations and advancements have been made on and
off the ice so that deaf or players who are hard of hearing can
not only enjoy the game, but also communicate with their
coaches and teammates easily. These players are ensured
the best instruction by those who have the highest
experience on college, national, and international
levels.
USA Hockey states that, “whether a player utilizes sign language, lip
reading, hearing aids, or cochlear implants, etc. interpreters are there to
make sure they understand the instruction.”
At the Disabled Hockey Festival, to signal a call on the ice, the referees
would flicker the lights to alert the players rather than blowing a whistle.
While some of the fans were confused and maybe even a little shocked
by the unexpected dimming and flickering of the lights, the USA Hockey
referees and AdventHealth Center Ice officials did a wonderful job creating
a welcoming environment for disabled hockey players to thrive in.
Special Hockey
Continuously proving that hockey is a sport that everyone can enjoy are
those special players with developmental or cognitive disabilities who
make up more than 3,500 of the country’s registered hockey players and
represent 78 special organizations throughout the United States, according
to the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA).
The discipline was represented by six special teams competing in both an
A-level group and a B/C-level group at Wesley Chapel. Teams also had the
chance to compete in a skills competition, which was the first of its kind.
The special hockey discipline is very similar to traditional hockey. Although,
penalties, icing, and offsides are usually not part of game play, according
to USA Hockey.
“Special Hockey emphasizes players to have fun through teamwork,
social interaction, and improving the quality of life through on and off ice
activities. Special hockey serves a wide range of disabilities and there is an
opportunity for everyone to enjoy the sport,” according to the USA Hockey
special hockey handbook.
Although there are certain regulations that set special hockey
apart from traditional ice hockey, the goal remains the
same for coaches, athletes, and promoters of the sport:
develop great players on the ice, and even better people
in everyday life.
Standing/Amputee Hockey
Following their festival opener game against
the Tampa Bay Lightning Alumni Team, the
American Amputee Hockey Association (AAHA)
National Team competed throughout the
weekend in Wesley Chapel against two other
Lightning-based amputee teams, known as
the Lightning Heroes.
Standing/amputee hockey is played upright just
like traditional hockey, while players use prostheses
to hold the stick or skate. Amputee hockey is one of the
disabled hockey disciplines that has been developed the most
in the United States over the course of the past two decades.
As stated by USA Hockey, “standing/Amputee Hockey has allowed a
growing number of athletes with congenital or acquired amputations
or other physical impairments to enjoy the great sport of hockey.”
Photo Credit: Cindy Eccles-Earth-Life Studios
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