Lacombe’s Anna-Louise O’Nuir is one of nearly 200 sledge hockey players competing in Red Deer this weekend.
The 15th annual Western Canada Sledge Hockey Tournament, also known as the Matt Cook Memorial Cup, began Friday in Red Deer. This is the first time the tournament has been held in the city.
O’Nuir, 16, has been in a wheelchair all her life and sledge hockey gave her the opportunity to play a sport.
“There aren’t too many wheelchair sports around,” O’Nuir said. “I wanted to get involved in a sport I could participate in. It’s such a great way to feel like part of a team.”
Fifteen teams, from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C., are playing in the tournament at the Collicutt Centre and Kinsmen Community Arenas until Sunday.
Before the games began Friday, O’Nuir and other female players skated with two members of the Canadian women’s sledge hockey team at the Collicutt Centre.
O’Nuir said it was a great experience.
“It’s really great to be on the ice with them. They were really good and had some helpful tips,” she said.
Geneva Coulter, who plays defence on Team Canada, said she hopes more women become interested in the sport.
“It’s amazing to help those newer and younger players, especially looking at the female side of it. It’s such a male dominated sport, so having all women on the ice is incredible,” Coulter said.
The players at the tournament in Red Deer were pretty talented, Coulter added.
“I think we have some really great players, especially from Alberta who could make our team and represent Canada some day if they want to,” she said.
Amy MacKinnon, Paralympic Sports Association executive director based in Edmonton, said everyone was looking forward to the tournament.
“All the players I’ve spoke with are really excited. Every year we have a few new teams come in too, which is exciting,” she said.
Sledge hockey is a sport for anybody, MacKinnon added.
“You don’t have to have a physical impairment to play the sport. In fact a lot of the players do not have any physical impairment,” she said.
MacKinnon said she hopes Red Deer will have a sledge hockey team in the near future. There was a team five or six years ago, but it collapsed due to lack of funding.
Since September, about 11 players – mostly from Red Deer – have practised sledge hockey at city rinks.
Having the tournament in Red Deer this year will get those players more excited about the sport, MacKinnon said.
Steve Arsenault, who won a silver medal with Canada’s Para Ice Hockey Team at the 2018 Paralympics, will be at the Kinsmen at 2:30 p.m. to talk about his experiences in PyeongChang.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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