Power hockey
Power hockey is a competitive, fast-paced hockey game based on the use of an electric powered wheelchair. Its modified ice hockey rules enable disabled people that use an electric wheelchair to play hockey and to be active in a competitive team setting. The sport is also called electric wheelchair hockey and electric wheelchair floorball.
History of power hockey
The sport was discovered by accident in the 1970s, when some schools began giving sports lessons for pupils with disabilities. The children that started playing the sport were mainly severely physically handicapped. This type of sport was great for them because it does not require much muscle power to operate the stick or the wheelchair. There are also similarities with floorball.
Positions
The amount of players on a specific team can change, but at any given time there are five players on the court. There is usually one head coach and one assistant coach to direct the movements of the team members. The coaches can also be playing members of the team.
- One center
- One goaltender
- Two winger positions (left and right)
- One defenceman position
Rule changes
- A basketball court is used instead of ice.
- A plastic ball is used instead of a hockey puck.
- The hockey stick that is used is made entirely from plastic.
- Players with excessive limited range and movement may tape the stick to their wheelchair.
- Due to the goalies' limited ability to move, they do not freeze the ball. Instead, the official blows the whistle to stop play when the ball is underneath the goaltender's electric wheelchair, and play restarts with a face-off.
External links
- U.S Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association
- Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association
- Wheelchair Hockey League (WCHL - Michigan)
- Disabled Sports USA
- North Carolina Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association
- National Sports Center for the Disabled
- FIWH (Italian)
- Gruppo Sportivo ViterSport (Italian)
- M-Team Electric Gladiators (Finnish power hockey club)
- Manitoba Power Wheelchair Hockey Association
See also
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