Starting from the Bottom: Why Local Sports Matter
The community centre: it’s the first place that a hockey stick is picked up by a young child. Or, it’s the place where after an accident, a person with an acquired disability can dive headfirst into the pool and learn that they can be active again. Local sports programs are often the catalyst for a lifelong love for a sport.
Many high-performance athletes get their start through these programs. But what happens when these community level programs aren’t accessible or there just aren’t enough people to play? That’s the dilemma that many para-sports are facing, especially Ontario’s sledge hockey teams.
Ontario saw an increase of league teams after the exposure sledge hockey received during the 2006 Paralympics. The amount of teams grew and now Ontario has the largest number of sledge hockey teams in Canada. Yet, they are having trouble recruiting people to join community level teams and leagues.
James Titmarsh, the president of the Durham Steelhawks and the Vice President of the Ontario Sledge Hockey Association remembers the time before sledge hockey became so popular.
“It was ‘come out and try sledge hockey’ and maybe you’ll run into another team in the area,” he says.
High performance sports are situated on the top of a pyramid. Only the best, most dedicated make it to the top competitions, like the Paralympics. The base of that pyramid is the community level, occupied by pick-up games and leagues. As the base gets smaller so does its peak, minimizing the number of elite athletes at the top.
Todd Sargeant, the head coach of Sledge Team Ontario and the London Blizzard, has seen it firsthand.
“We’ve noticed a trend over the last few years that our base has not been growing at the rate that we need it and we’re starting to see the impact at the elite level where we’re not getting the same calibre of athletes we did 10 years ago,” he says.
It can be difficult to recruit players, as there is already a small pool to pull from in each city or location. So, if a team has regular players, it can be challenging to keep them and run a full program.
“Recruitment is the biggest issue,” Titmarsh says.
As a result it’s often more challenging for those involved in leagues to compete. Sledge hockey is also expensive. Equipment costs, ice time and travel costs may be some of the reasons that athletes are leaving the sport. Often to compete in a competitive game, the teams have to travel large distances to meet with another team.
“We have to leave (the city) for every game,” says Sargeant.
Perhaps community level para-sports have been a victim of their own success. Increasingly over the years, para-sports have received more coverage on TV (such as Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games) and potential athletes are seeing that they have more options beyond sledge hockey and other established para-sports. Just as sledge hockey saw an increase of participants after the 2016 Paralympics, so are other para-sports now that they have received similar exposure.
“We don’t have that many disabled athletes and now they’re being spread amongst more sports,” says Sargeant.
It can leave smaller teams in a precarious position. They may have athletes interested in playing or competing, but not enough to make a team. One other possible solution could be the integration of able-bodied players and inviting them to play different para-sports. Titmarsh says his able-bodied brother often plays sledge hockey with him.
While some may disagree with this approach, Alan Trivett, the executive director of ParaSport Ontario, believes it’s an education opportunity.
“When you put an able-bodied person in a sledge or a wheelchair, they realize how difficult it is,” he says. “(The wheelchair) is just a piece of sporting equipment. It’s not about the disability, it’s about the ability to play a sport that is different.”
But ultimately it’s about engaging para-athletes as things change for para-sports. “A lot of this is just the waves of changes,” Titmarsh says.
Despite the hurdles sledge hockey is currently facing, people like Titmarsh are confident it will rise again.
“We have to keep promoting sledge hockey. We have to keep getting (it) on TV and showing the younger kids that this is a sport you can succeed in and go far.”
BREAKING DOWN THE COST
Sledge hockey can be an expensive sport to get started in. The equipment costs alone are what make a lot of teams resort to private sponsorship.
Sledge Hockey Equipment & Approximate Costs (based on an adult player):
Player
Elbow Pads - $60
Gloves - $100
Throat protectors - $25
Shoulder pads - $80
Shin protectors - $70
Helmet - $80
Sled - $620
Sticks - $40
TOTAL: $995
Goalie
Arm and Body protector - $600
Blocker glove & Catching clove - $250
Mask - $200
Goalie Sled - $640
Goalie Sticks - $50
TOTAL: $1,740
