Welcome to the recording of the exhibitor presentation from May 27th, 2026 Growing Blind Ice Hockey in Germany and around the world International Blind Ice Hockey Federation (IBIHF) Enjoy the presentation Alright, well, Hello, everybody. this is the SightCity 2026 IBIHF presentation growing blind ice hockey in Germany and around the world I'm one of your co hosts my name is Matt Morrow I'm the sport director for the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation and executive director for Canadian Blind Hockey I've been working with the parasport of blind hockey since 2007 and had the pleasure of of seeing it grow all across the world really looking forward to taking the next steps into introducing the sport into Germany into Czechia and beyond as we try to grow the sport towards the World Championships in addition to blind ice hockey experience I do have quite a bit of experience with blind sports in general as a referee and coach with goalball beep baseball I've been to the IBSA World Games and seen para-judo athletics swimming all sorts of different sports and yeah thank you very much for joining us this morning and thank you to SightCity for having us I'll turn it over to my co host Hello, everyone, my name is Luca Demontis I'm the Program Director of Canadian Blind Hockey and the General Manager of the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team I'm actually on this Zoom right now live from Frankfurt Germany where I was able to attend SightCity today a remarkable experience just for day 1 and we're here on site sharing more about blind hockey and how we are looking forward to starting programs across not only Germany but around the world with over 15 years experience in both the professional and the amateur and the charitable side of sports it this is something that is truly amazing to myself my family and our community watching the sport grow so a lot of years experience in blind hockey and looking to add many more years experience but also many more participants from countries that we are looking to tap into Alright, so we're going to start with a quick video from our friends at Accessible Media Inc that explains the sport while the narrator is talking it will show a variety of clips of blind hockey at different levels a level playing field digital exclusive sport explained blind hockey blind hockey is a variation of ice hockey for athletes who are legally blind like all standard hockey rinks the ice surface is 60 meters long by 30 meters wide and is surrounded by a wall called boards there is a center red line that divides the rink in half and two blue lines that create 30 meter defensive zones for each team there are nine face off dots the main being at center ice the nets are set in each defensive zone on opposite sides of the ice surface four metres from the end boards the nets in blind hockey are 3 feet high as opposed to the standard size of 4 feet tall for traditional nets blind hockey uses a 14 by 4.8 cm steel disc that is just over three times the size of the rubber puck used in other forms of hockey it has eight ball bearings inside that rattle and make noise allowing players to hear and follow the puck around the ice six players from each team are allowed on the ice at any one time typically divided into three forwards two defensemen and a goaltender the forward positions consist of a center and two wingers a left wing and a right wing players use traditional ice hockey sticks to shoot pass and carry the puck across the ice a typical hockey stick is composed of a long slender shaft of 160 cm with a flat blade of 30 cm at the bottom sticks are customized based on size of player and their preferences players must pass the puck once in the offensive zone before shooting to allow the defense and goalie to hear and locate the puck once the pass is successful a high pitched chirp alerts everyone and the attacking team can shoot if players stopped at any time even in attacking zone players must complete a pass again before shooting when the puck beats the goalie and crosses the goal line the attacking team is awarded a goal the team with the most goals at the end wins now you're ready to take a shot okay so that's a that's a very brief overview on the sport and I know it's a lot of information quickly I also know there may be some people either on this call or listening to this call in the future that may not be familiar with the pair with the sport of ice hockey so before we speak about the adaptations a quick overview about ice hockey in general ice hockey is considered the fastest team sport in the world it's played in over 85 countries and has both world championships and Olympic competitions the sport is played on an ice rink that is 61 meters long by 26 meters wide there's a goal net at each end two teams of six players each use curved sticks to maneuver a hard rubber disc the puck into the opposing team's net to score goals the team with the most goals at the end of the three 20 minute periods wins and most importantly what separates hockey from a lot of other sports is players move about an ice surface by gliding on skates while wearing full body protective equipment including shin pads pants jock Jill shoulder and chest protector gloves neck guard helmet and they carry a hockey stick to maneuver the puck so if you're familiar with football very similar sport except it takes place on an ice surface turn it over to Luca for the adaptations Alright, so there are a few adaptations that make blind ice hockey accessible for children youth and adults who are blind and partially sighted blind ice hockey is the fastest team sport in the world and it's for athletes who are blind and visually impaired it's extremely similar to traditional hockey as we just went through some of those rules but of course we do have a few adaptations what make the sport accessible for all it's played by both men and women and individuals of all ages from children as young as 3 years old to what we call the seasoned veterans who are as close to 88 years old and they're playing the game still because they love the game it's played at all levels from beginners who are new to skating to the advanced recreational players and the elite players that represent their countries on the International Blind Ice Hockey Series currently blind hockey is played in six countries including Canada United States Finland Sweden England and Russia and of course blind ice hockey is for everyone so there is some adapted equipment in blind ice hockey so as they mentioned in the video our puck is bigger it's more than three times the size of a traditional puck and it's made out of metal with eight ball bearings inside that makes noise so that allows players that are partially sighted to be able to see the puck better and those with with little to no sight or no sight at all to hear where it is on the ice our net is smaller it's only 91 cm tall instead of the traditional 121 cm and the reason for the adapted net is the puck does not make much noise in the air and the goal tenders are completely blind so in order to encourage shots to stay on ice level where they make noise and to give the gold tenders the fairest chance possible we remove the top foot of the traditional hockey net the teams always used high contrast jerseys so for those that can see the video instead of the traditional white Jersey used in in traditional hockey we always use bright yellow jerseys as they contrast well against the white ice and boards and then finally the referee carries an electronic whistle in addition to the traditional whistle and that is specific for the adapted pass rule which she did explain in the video but Luca will explain again on the next slide Perfect, thanks, Matt. so some more adapted rules this is really a rule that I truly love the players must make one clean pass after they enter the attacking zone before they are eligible to shoot the score at that point the referee will make that sound which is a distinct high pitch pass whistle which we were just talking about and that's a signal that is very important not only the attacking team which gives them the eligibility to shoot the score but also very important for the defensive team the goalies who are completely blind once they hear that pass was so they now know that the opposition has the puck and the next chance they shoot it they need to be ready to make a big save for their turn their team all goal tenders must also be completely blind and wear a blindfold this is to ensure that there's a level playing field between all the teams and it's also very important for the role for completely blind players since the puck does not make much noise when it's moving the goaltender really has to use their crease to their advantage so if the puck is frozen or it's not moving in their crease the referee will then blow the whistle immediately and consider the play dead that that what that does it really allows the goalie to have a safe space and at that point the goalie does not have to cover the puck to stop play it's more for safety no player on either team is allowed in the goaltenders crease so as I was mentioning that is really the goalie's safe space where they are able to feel comfortable part of the team and an active member on the ice so for for all blind sports there's a and in all para sports in general there's a process called classification and if you've participated in any other blind sport football goalball anything you'd be familiar with it if you haven't we'll talk about it just briefly because it does play an important role in blind ice hockey so for international competition so this is for the the top level players that compete in the international series and will eventually go to the World Championships we use the IBSA classification eligibility standards which is the same system used in the Paralympics so in the IBSA classification system an athlete who is blind or visually impaired is classified as either a B1 which is no vision a B2 which is approximately 5% functional vision or less or a B3 which is approximately 10% vision functional vision or less and there is a a specific definition technical definition I should say of the visual acuity and or field which you can find on our website and the IBSA website as well Perfect. so Matt just touched based a little bit on more the international classification but when it comes to recreational and the domestic classification the parasport of blind hockey recognizes that players who have slightly too much vision however still meet the criteria of being legally blind are visually impaired and they still may not be able to play the traditional hockey with sighted players so we expand our visual eligibility in the criteria to add B4 classification to recreation and domestic competitions what a B4 classification is is a visual acuity of less than 6 over 21 but also a continuous visual field of less than 60% and that also includes your central fixation point and it's measured horizontally or vertically so we don't want to shut the door and not let players play the game we want to still introduce players of a B4 classification to have the ability to play whether it's in their country whether it's recreationally with the main purpose of play the game to have fun so back to the international side of things in international blind ice hockey we use a point system which is similar to what is used in wheelchair Rugby or standing amputee hockey so it's fairly simple each player is assigned a point value based on their visual classification it's three points for a B3 two points for a B2 one point for a B1 and at full strength teams may only have a maximum of 14 points distributed on the ice which includes the goalie who must be classified as a B1 so what this does it ensures that it's a fair game that's determined by skill and performance rather than level of vision it's not that one team's gonna be all B threes the other team's gonna be all B twos and B1 and it's not a fair game the point system ensures that while the players have different levels of vision the teams will have the same overall level of vision and there are opportunities for all classifications to play and the way we track this again quite simple B3 players wear black helmets B2 players wear white helmets and B1 skaters will be identified by wearing red helmets this is in place for international competition only for domestic competitions was we're growing new programs with children youth recreational play and of course when we have B fours we do not use the international point system so hockey is for everybody we truly believe that and now that you've understood a little bit about the sport we wanna show you some of the impact so this video is about Canadian Blind Hockey's Western Regional tournament very fortunate to have a partnership this year with the NHL Vancouver Canucks who came out and supported so in this in this frame you can see the Canucks mascot it's an orca whale and some of their representatives are there and in fact there's a new Vancouver Canucks blind hockey Jersey that they allow us to use for our programs just really shows their their commitment to the to the supporting the sport so we'll play this quick video when people aren't speaking what's shown on the screen as generally clips of what's happening at that time so it'll show adult recreational play and it'll also show the children and youth triad session that we had going on that weekend a Canadian blind hockey has been growing the parasport of blind hockey across British Columbia and across Canada for the past 15 years and to have a partnership with an NHL club and to have a co branded logo a famous state logo with the words Blind Hockey I think it means everything to our community it's it's great recognition and it just shows to everybody that's blind or partially sighted that there is a place in hockey for them this is this is incredible this is the first time I've I've seen or heard of blind hockey what a great thing what it's just so nice to see all the smiles on these kids faces and what a really cool beautiful event for everybody involved so this is the Western Regional Blind Hockey Tournament this is the fifth edition of the tournament and the first time that we've had all four Western Canadian provinces represented which just really shows the growth of the sport across the country the Paris for the blind hockey is incredibly similar to traditional hockey the biggest two adaptations are the puck which is larger than a traditional puck and it makes noise and of course the fact that all the players are blind or partially sighted with approximately 10% vision or less we've got a few adapted rules but otherwise it's the same sport that everybody loves coast to coast in Canada one of our biggest programs to get more youth involved is our tryout sessions one of which we're hosting today as part of the Western Regionals so kids from across the Lower Mainland that are blind or visually impaired have been invited out and then they're gonna get their chance to go out there wear the Canucks Blind Hockey logo proudly and get on the ice and actually try the sport I've seen some of the kids that just haven't really skated much before they're learning to skate they're having some fun we got the Richmond Sockeyes players out here they're helping and hockey's such a great sport it truly is for everybody and we were lucky enough to be invited out to Rogers Arena where we had the big unveil of the new logo and everybody had it on their on their jerseys for the very first time and I can tell you that the impact that made on the community was huge we had you know adult players saying they felt like they were little kids again we had little kids talking about the excitement of being able to wear their favorite team's brand and to see that they incorporated the words blind hockey right into their brand is just a commitment to making hockey inclusive for everyone the partnership between Canadian Blind Hockey and the Canucks is really through the Canucks for Kids Fund and through that partnership we're able to host more try blind hockey sessions across the province to get more kids involved we were able to rebrand our local team as the Junior Canucks Blind Hockey Team which is so exciting our our kids are thrilled with that and then launch the all new Victoria Canucks Blind Hockey program so it's just a fantastic partnership between two charitable organizations that are coming together to try to make a difference in the lives of British Columbians that are blind or partially sighted Canucks alumni and Canucks are always involved in the community and and I'm proud to be part of it but you know let's challenge the other teams across the league and the NHL to be part of line hockey as well because being out here is one of the greatest things I've ever been a part of and we need more more teams involved and it's really cool that the Canucks are one of the first okay so that that gives you a pretty good overview I think of of kind of the passion that that our community has for the parasport of blind hockey and and the different sort of levels and the sort of you know why people want to get involved in blind hockey to give you a quick history lesson and and just overview of the international growth over the past you know many years so blind ice hockey was actually invented in Canada way back in 1946 but has only been organized at a national level since Canadian Blind Hockey was founded in 2010 so it's a relatively new parasport in fact the first blind ice hockey programs in the USA were started just over 10 years ago in 2014 England and Finland in 2019 Russia and Sweden in 2020 and this year we're we're hoping to grow into new countries as well so internationally we've grown to the point where we have the annual international series between Canada and USA since 2018 and we were very excited that this year it grew to a three team tournament including Team World which was made up of mostly Finnish and English players and after the success of that weekend we're going to be looking forward to having Team World at all our future events so if you're from Germany or anywhere else in the world and you've played ice hockey and you're interested in potentially competing on the Team World team would love to to get your contact information and we've got a slide about that later on and we're very proud that there are now more than 1,000 blind ice hockey players in six countries around the world and that we know that from conversations that we've had with with some people on this call that there will be blind hockey programs starting in both Germany and Czechia next season so very very exciting stuff for the parasport of blind hockey yes and as Matt just mentioned there will be programs starting in both Czechia and Germany here we're gonna talk a little bit about bringing blind ice hockey to Germany today at SightCity was as I mentioned earlier remarkable just the conversations we were having with so many interested and eager individuals that want to not only learn to skate but who have skated before and wanna try the Paralympic sport of blind hockey and Germany has more than 20,000 players currently playing the sport of hockey making it the eighth largest ice hockey nation they've got strong hockey infrastructure with leaders in the world such as Leon Draisaitl growing an adaptive sport takes a movement and you know here in Germany what I was able to notice today is the community is ready and eager and willing to not only help but help grow blind hockey in this country strong interest from this community and I think the eventual goal here in speaking on behalf of the organization and a lot of dedicated individuals is to eventually create the German National Blind Ice Hockey Team where they will then have the opportunity to represent their country and compete at the International Blind Ice Hockey World Championships and so I guess the next question for those of you on the call might be well why should we start a blind ice hockey program and so on on behalf of our community of players who you know the No. 1 thing they just want is is more players to play with more opportunities to to compete at all levels whether that's just you know children and youth whether that's for fun or whether that's you know all the way to the World Championships is is we can confidently say that blind ice hockey programming changes lives in Canadian Blind Hockey's 20 20 five 26 end of season survey 80% of participants reported improvements in confidence teamwork motivation and self reliance well an incredible 96% of participants reported enhanced mental health and physical well being so I think you know I personally participate in in hockey programming and and I agree with all this stuff that it is so important to to have the opportunity to be part of a team sport and to be able to do a physical activity in a social recreation setting and 96% of all participants really felt that that it had a very positive impact on their life this year which we know is true kind of across the board with with all blind hockey programs and and that's the biggest reason why we think people should get involved as Matt mentioned we do think people should get involved but the voices of impact I think speak loud and clear right I I won't read the whole quote but Scarlet Dorn is a blind hockey player and she's been quoted in saying finding blind hockey has changed her life a great deal it has helped improve her confidence her independence and has helped her create friendships with others people who are blind and allowed her to travel even helped her with her time management skills blind hockey has given her a sport to love and it's given her a community so it's very important to hear these voices of impact because these are individuals that the sport has not only changed their life but has made them feel like they're part of a brand new community in life Graham Foxcroft another blind hockey player from Vancouver quoted blind hockey has changed my life by allowing me to challenge myself in ways I thought may not be possible living with vision loss from birth that right there is just so impactful hearing that come from a great friend of ours and and a leader in the community so to hear these voices of impact speak about what the sport means to them on and also more importantly off the ice it's truly important to know that these people are there and they have this opportunity to play this game and we've got a couple more here and again you know blind hockey for everybody at all levels you know in May 2022 I was officially diagnosed with RP at 19 years old by the time doctors confirmed it I only had 8% vision in each eye I remember walking out of that appointment feeling like my entire future had been flipped upside down after my diagnosis I thought hockey was over I was introduced to Simon Richard an assistant captain with Canada's national blind hockey team he told me about blind hockey and invited me to come try a camp by late fall I played blind hockey for the first time and I fell in love with the game immediately blind hockey showed me there's still a path forward and that's from Jonathan Tresop who's a blind hockey player and one of the newest members of the Canadian national blind hockey team who's been able to represent the country several times now winning gold so I think that right there speaks to you know players where where hockey was such a big part of their life and then when they do get a diagnosis of vision loss you know there's there's a million challenges but the one thing they they can know for sure is that hockey is still going to be there for them it's still gonna be the same camaraderie in the locker room it's the same game played slightly differently on the flip side of things you know talking about somebody who never got to play hockey because they they have a congenital condition for birth we've got Gabby one of our ambassadors from the junior team when I joined blind hockey I was in Grade 1 I only had a small group of friends and they weren't very nice to me at the time in blind hockey I've made many friends met many new people and had lots of fun throughout the years blind hockey to me is a way to connect with others have fun learn new skills show your skills and build a confidence inside you that is so strong that you can later go on to do other astonishing things I am so glad that this program that is available to me and many others because without it I would be in a completely different world thank you blind hockey and and I can say you know from watching Gabby over the last 10 years and and you know I'm sure blind hockey played an impact in the confidence obviously we've seen that but he he has gone on to do so some amazing things he performed at our at our national Blind hockey tournament this past year and was absolutely incredible and it'll be great to see what he does moving forward we're gonna touch a little bit here on the community impact right and according to player surveys and some feedback blind hockey programs and events contribute directly to the following right it help improve mental health outcomes social connection and belonging reduced isolation strong youth engagement and leadership development and positive life outcomes these are just a few the word community is so powerful across the globe in the world that what we are trying to create here it is a community right where these individuals children youth and adults of all ages from 3 to 88 I feel like they have the same ability and outcome here to play not only the parasport of blind hockey but to go on and feel successful in their everyday life right and what we've noticed through our community is these skills that they've been able to give credit to because of the parasport of blind hockey so now let's get into some specifics here for those on the call that really want to start a blind hockey program and this is just a quick list I will say that we are available our full time job is developing the the parasport of blind ice hockey we've been fortunate enough to work with the group in the US to get that going the group in Finland to get that going and and we're very happy to work with anybody anywhere in the world to help support the development of a new program and so these are just some ideas but in every community it's gonna be a little different depending on how the hockey infrastructure is set up you know is there a blind sports group that's very interested in putting it on will the local minor hockey association put it on there there are many different models that have all proven successful in different places so just keep in mind this isn't a this isn't the only way to do it there's there's lots of different ways but I think the most important first thing is to build local interest and be the champion and you know Lucas at SightCity here with Yohan who really wants to bring blind ice hockey to Germany and and he's being an excellent champion right now and so if you wanna be a leader in your community it's about finding new participants so you know connect with the blindness and low vision organizations the blind sport organizations reach out to people that are playing other blind sports engage with with families and participants and identify some local champions in the hockey world that might be able to help you develop this program that are already running maybe a para hockey program or just are running a traditional hockey program but wanna create an adapted program step 2 is obviously you need to find the ice time and the facility so you know doing a search of local arenas figuring out where you might be able to get ice is some of the ice gonna be more accessible by transit that that can be a big thing in certain communities once you're able to get an ice time you know start very small with a try it session is is always a great way to do it we have a guidelines on how to put one of those together you know we've had try it sessions with as few as maybe five people trying it we've had as many as I think 90 so I mean there's there's been all sorts of different levels depending on the population and and they've all proven to be successful in their own way step 3 is where we can help equipment and adaptations so certainly you'll need blind hockey pucks which we can provide you need to figure out standard hockey equipment you know some facilities they have skates and helmet available for rental and other facilities you may have to find a local hockey partner again we we have guidelines and all this and and and can really help you out with some information but we do need to find the local champions to build it in their community and that's why we're so excited about being part of SightCity cause there has been a lot of local interest in in various regions of Germany yeah so to continue on with some ways to start blind hockey step 4 would be training and volunteers finding new coaches individuals that are willing and eager to help grow the sport in your country we could definitely help with the blind hockey rules and more importantly emphasize safety and communication launch a try blind hockey event in your community in your region right it's a great entry point to find new players it helps focus on fun and the introduction of the sport but also builds confidence and continues to grow that interest of players the difference is sorry from try blind hockey events to continuing to build off that continuing to build off that momentum to develop an ongoing program one thing we've noticed here in Canada is it's great you get all these individuals out for a try blind hockey event but then they're so excited they wanna keep playing what are we gonna do to continue to provide those opportunities right so develop ongoing programming is very important and very key it could be weekly bi-weekly monthly whatever works for your group right focus on skills development and of course the sport is played by children youth and adults but it's also possible to create both youth and adult streams it gives both the youth a safe place to learn and develop and it gives the adults a place where they can continue to not only develop but play and then of course Step 7 is build that pathway from local teams to regional events to national and international tournaments right create proper progression opportunities it shows that a youth who grows up in a youth program could then potentially continue to develop into the adult stream and from there attend a regional event and get on the radar of making their national team and participating in an international event right it's so important to help retain and grow participants and some of our greatest ambassadors are our players in the community because they're able to speak about how important the game has been for them and why other individuals who are not just blind and partially sighted they might be sighted individuals that have grown up playing the game but they want to give back to the game and they become great coaches and volunteers to help champion these new programs so a little bit about the international blind ice hockey federation it was created in 2015 to lead the development of blind ice hockey focus on international development recruitment and gain inclusion into the Winter Paralympic Games so there are currently four countries where the sport of blind ice hockey is widely played Canada where we've got over 20 programs over 300 players USA roughly the same 20 programs 300 players Finland who just completed their first ever national series I believe they've got about 40 players and their goal is to have their first ever national team next year and Russia where there's 13 programs mostly for children and youth there are some smaller programs in other countries but they need to continue to grow and develop and we need to focus on recruiting a minimum of four more countries to develop programs in order to have the necessary eight countries for a World Championships and the opportunity to apply for the Paralympic Games so the Paralympic Games is always gonna be the long term goal but there's many steps we have to take to get there as we said earlier the the first big step we took was in 2018 when we had the Canada USA International Series this year we took another step when we added Team World we're hopeful Team Finland will be there soon and then of course this fall looking to introduce the sport into Germany and Czechia is going to bring two other countries on board so there's a lot of great momentum in the international development and we are hopeful that in the near future we can host the world championships for the sport of blind ice hockey yeah so the next steps for international growth you know here with the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation we're committed to growing the parasport around the world right there needs to be at least eight countries with national blind hockey teams and to do that we've identified 20 countries that have either strong hockey para hockey or an adaptive sport program as a primary candidates to help us start blind hockey programs in their countries right so we're confident from this list of 20 we'll be able to find another four that could start national teams right and just a few of the names on that list are Germany Czechia France Great Britain Norway Japan China Korea Switzerland Belarus Slovakia Austria Latvia Hungary Denmark Kazakhstan Italy and Thailand so these are some countries that we've identified and of course within that list we feel that we will be successful and help introduce four countries to create national team programs so as as mentioned earlier we will be hosting the 2027 International Blind Ice Hockey Series and it will take place in Toronto Canada in March of 2027 and we are looking for players from anywhere in the world whether you're in Germany or you're joining us from elsewhere if you've got previous ice hockey experience and you are visually impaired or blind I would love to have you come attend a camp or send us some video and and try out for Team World because we'd really like to see Team World made up of many more countries and it really is the perfect first step for creating champions in new countries to grow the game so you know we're very hopeful we may see players from both Germany and Czechia on next year's Team World or if not there are other divisions The International Blind Ice Hockey Series takes place at the same time as the Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament and we accept players from all around the world in all divisions so children division youth division girls and women's summit adult recreational adult beginner adult competitive we've basically got a division for everybody and so our message really is you know if you have the hockey experience and and you are an elite player then yes would love to have you on Team World but if you're still newer to the game but you'd like to become a part of it there is a place for you athletes from around the world have descended on our city this weekend for the world's largest hockey tournament for players who are blind it is the 12th year for the event striving to make the game more accessible for players of all ages and skill levels wanting to get out on the ice CBS Mike Walker joins us live now from the Mattamy Athletic Center for the tournament is taking place this weekend Mike well Natalie when this tournament started about 12 years ago there was only two teams and 40 players participating and every year more and more teams register as organizers spread awareness about blind hockey programs across Canada and beyond rattling noise of a large adapted puck with ball bearings inside echoes throughout the Mattamy Athletic Center as players of all ages with 10% vision or less compete in the Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament everything they do is based off that sound Aiden started playing hockey when he was young but had to stop after he lost his vision he says this opportunity to play the game he loves has had a big impact on his life it's something that's allowed me to play the sport I love at such a high competitive level that I never thought I could because of my vision this is the 12th year for the tournament which is the largest of its kind in the world with a record setting 200 athletes competing in six divisions from children to adults hockey is so woven into our cultural fabric that everybody wants to be a part of the game and everybody should have a place to play making the sport accessible for players of all ages and skill levels like Wayne Saint Dennis who's been playing blind hockey for nearly 30 years it's a big community and everybody's here for the same reasons and now with these tournaments you get to compete which is fantastic and Ruby Coleman who joined the youth program in Vancouver three years ago I Learned to skate on the team which was so much fun these are like some of the best people I've met and it's so good to have that support system the event also includes the 7th annual International Series which features Team Canada and Team USA and for the first time Team World largely made up of players from Finland and the UK when we come together on this ice we're all we're all equals Kelly Servio captains Team Canada I wouldn't have thought that this late in sort of my playing career will say that I'm actually playing what I believe to be meaningful hockey the goal is to grow the sport globally our goal is to get an eight country World Championships going five years which would allow us to potentially apply for inclusion into the Winter Paralympic Games while continuing to build blind hockey programs for all ages across the country and as organizers continue that work to promote blind hockey programs across the globe they are hoping that Finland will have a national team represented here at next year's tournament reporting live on Mike Walker Natalie back to you OK thank you Mike so that was a a video that just gave you an overview of the the very special weekend that is the the Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament and then also the International series which were combined last year and again will be combined next year so just some opportunities to get involved as next steps we will be organizing the German Blind Hockey Zoom meeting in June so we've got a couple key organizers that are very passionate about bringing the sport to Germany and so we'll support that call but it will be a German-led initiative to figure out you know will there be one one program starting in one region will it be multiple regions will there be a camp all that will get figured out and I would assume at some point next season the goal will be to host a a German blind ice hockey camp which has been the way that the other countries have all started Canadian Blind Hockey is hosting our annual summer development camp it's just outside of Toronto Ontario that happens August 24th to 29th and that camp has been the way that a lot of these programs have started so when Finland wanted we we had two gentlemen from Finland that really wanted to bring ice hockey to blind ice hockey to Finland Antti and Markus they came and they attended our camp they Learned about the parasport they Learned about how we organized the camp and then they went back and organized it in Finland if there are people on this call or or otherwise that would like to become a part of that camp we would love to have you and actually there's gonna be a camp in Czechia in October as well that that information will be coming out sooner than later and then finally as I mentioned the 2027 International Blind Ice Hockey Series in Toronto in March so our goal is by starting the conversation now that when we get to March of next year you know maybe we're gonna have seven or eight different countries represented we know we're gonna have Canada USA Finland England and so let's hope that we can get at least Germany and Czechia and maybe even beyond so very exciting stuff for the parasport here finally is a video of the top international plays so blind ice hockey is for all absolutely but we also want to promote it as the elite parasport that it is with our top players and so for those that are are familiar with hockey I think you'll be very impressed by the level of skill that happened so here's the top plays from last year's International Blind Ice Hockey Series with a mix of plays from Canada USA and World clean pass received by O'callaghan dishes to Yoo ha shoots scores Yee ha Yoo ha his second of the game again as he brings it in makes the pass to tapasaurus back to slim shoots and scores and Slam ties this game these games can end in a tie in this three team series so here goes Toma Raymond shoots big save by Rantanen as he got just enough to a huge presence in that locker room is Yohan gets it back from Davantes and he scores the Angel drop pass here to Trent can he get the hat and shoot oh yeah what a goal dance gram gets the hat trick looking the left wing you have Samantha's receives a pass vintage and Mark Cavendish carries it picked it now here go the Canadians Edder to Raymond shoots big save by Steves as he throws the glove hand out there and just keeps that one from crossing the line Miller to Kane good clean pass established Kane shoot here goes Toma Damon looking for the pass to Conrad Eder shoots big save by Rantanen as he closes the 5 hole and that's one of his best saves today on that cross ice chance here is it behind the net stops tries to hit Hulk and then sets him up and score Yuka pulled it in the frozen dog five seconds to play tapasaurus pivots away Cotler has lost his stick one second shoot and it's over with a 3 2 win over Team USA what a result and what a shot to finish flags in the house by proud and so for those able to see it you know there there was a mixture of incredible goals there was incredible saves really good play Canadian Blind Hockey and actually the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation both have YouTube channels that have a lot a lot of videos on them including that one and the nice thing about this is if you are new to the sport of hockey if you if you find local hockey coaches in your community and you show them any of these videos I think they will immediately go oh OK I understand exactly what blind ice hockey is I will absolutely be able to to help you with that because it is so similar to the traditional part of the game and so Luke I'll turn it over to you for our calls to action yeah perfect so first thing would be to sign up not only for our German blind ice hockey database but also a database that we're trying to grow around the world just now in the chat I did share the link so if you are still on the presentation please feel free to click that link and register whether you're in Germany or another country to show your interest get involved we were able to touch on a little bit of the impact of what this has made and what it has done for the players in the community the only way to feel that it is to get involved to get on the ice to play this game to feel like you're part of a team right and I can't emphasize that enough truly start a program in your community be that champion right be that leader that helps bring blind ice hockey to your community and your country partner with the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation we are here to help we understand this can be a difficult task that's why just like every other team sport you do not have to do this alone we are here to help you and I'm sure there is gonna be other individuals in your community in your country that are also gonna wanna help when they hear your passion and when they believe that this can happen and of course let's bring blind ice hockey to your country it is so important to help grow this sport for the individuals that are currently playing and for the individuals that don't even know about the sport yet but have a strong love for the sport of hockey hockey is hockey if it's blind ice hockey or traditional hockey the goals are the same the objects the same and the love and passion that this bring the sport brings to everyone it is truly the same also those are a couple of our calls to action couple of other things here Matt mentioned the YouTube channel but aside from that follow the IBIHF Canadian Blind Hockey USA Blind Hockey across all social media platforms right from X to Instagram to Facebook and yes you can watch some of the greatest blind hockey players that this game has to offer right now on the YouTube channel so those are some ways to get involved we'll also provide a little bit more throughout this presentation well and actually we're at the end of the presentation so we wanted to say thank you very much for attending and we do have a couple minutes if anybody has any call questions but the other thing that we can do as well I think that there's gonna be a question certainly the email address info@blindicehockey.com very easy to remember but yes we'll take a question from Christophe can you unmute no I actually I didn't have a question oh OK sorry you raise you raise your hand in the Zoom so it's OK I'm sorry no problem no problem at all thank you for attending the call you're welcome another thing if you are in Germany and you are attending SightCity we are gonna be on site the rest of today tomorrow Thursday and Friday come stop by our booth. The booth is 2016. would love to meet you would love to share more about the sport and of course any questions that you have we would be glad to answer them so myself and a couple of other members of our team are there just come say hi let us know if you are interested and how we can help you and I do see there is another raised hand feel free to unmute your mic and would love to hear your question it's from the phone number that ends in 9 7 0 can you hear me yes ma'am do you have a a pack in front of you that we can hear it the noise that is a great question unfortunately with the speakers and the microphone on Zoom if we were to rattle the puck it wouldn't make a noise we can try I I bet Matt has one in front of him but I have had that problem before yeah you could kind of hear it in the video a little bit it doesn't really pick it up on the Zoom speaker for whatever reason but if you're in Germany and you're in Frankfurt and you want to come by the booth we do have a few pucks there that you are able to to shake and rattle any other questions and are there divisions between women and men and so on or does all play together great great question so we have both so most in fact every division is co-ed which means both men and women together and even at the international series Canada and USA and world all had at least one woman player we also have women only division so that that happens at the Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament it's called the girls and Women's Summit there are a day and a half of practice and then a women only competition excellent question okay any other questions okay well that's just about our time thank you so much for attending our presentation and and for your interest in blind ice hockey we've got more than 12 people signed up already for our international forum which has only come out yesterday so very good start for finding people in Germany specifically that want to play blind ice hockey as well as a lot of interest in Czechia so on behalf of of myself and and International Blind Ice Hockey Federation thank you very much for attending and thank you to SightCity for having us Luca did you want to close yeah I just like to say on behalf of the organization and SightCity thank you so much this has been great anytime we have the opportunity to share more about our parasport and create more awareness it's a win win for all so if you are in Germany and you are attending SightCity come by say hello would love to chat with you and if you are not in Germany but you want to get a program started please reach out to Matt myself Mel our entire team from the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation Canadian Blind Hockey USA Blind Hockey and everyone that has played this sport around the world that we love thank you so much for today and looking forward to getting on the ice with you all we hope you enjoyed this presentation for more information visit sightcity.net/O031132 thank you and see you at the next SightCity