Calgary Blind Hockey

[Kaon]

If you know someone who is visually impaired that would be interested in trying hockey please let me know as we are always looking for interest from the visually impaired community.

If you would be interested in volunteering, or have a team that would like to play us, please PM me. We have goggles that impair our opposing teams vision to try to simulate the experience of playing blind, or with greatly reduced vision. The guys would love to be able to play against some other teams, and there is no charge to come out and get in a good skate with us. We play Sunday nights at 8:30, so the time is convenient for most people.

Please send me a PM if interested.

We're also raffling off an autographed Sidney Crosby Jersey to help fundraise to help cover the cost of our ice times. I posted that in the buy/sell forum though, but if you'd like more information about this the link is below.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=82713

[CMPunk]

I've played against these guys before...it was a ton of fun!!

Hmmmm...CP vs the CBH...could be a thing....

[Kipper is King]

I have some questions out of curiosity: How do you avoid collisions? Are players wearing bells, or is just the sound of each other skating enough?

I have played goal ball before, and it was tougher than it seems. I can't fathom how tough playing hockey with a visual impairment would be.

[Kaon]

The guys would definitely be up for a game against CP. If you guys want to set something up let me know and we can figure out a Sunday that works best for everyone.

Collisions happen from time to time, but for the most part they can hear the skaters coming towards them. Also to be classified legally blind you need to have less than 10% of your vision, so some of the guys can still see shapes when they're up close, especially if it's a coloured jersey that stands out against the ice (white background). They can't see the puck (or a ball in goalball), but up close they can see the shape of a person. The puck is a metal puck full of ball bearings that help them hear it coming or being passed/shot.

[Kybosh]

I wish I was still in Calgary for this. I've played with the guys a few times before, and the games end up being surprisingly competitive. A couple of the blind guys are also really really really good players considering they are legally blind. Good times.

[Kaon]

A lot of people are surprised when they see a few of the guys play. We've had a lot of turnover in our visually impaired players in recent years though which is unfortunate.

I figured I would respond just before lunch in case some people who are interested in playing against us or volunteering with us are browsing the off topic forum over their lunch hour.

[SeeGeeWhy]

This is pretty damn cool

[kevman]

I had the opportunity to go mountain biking, down hill no less, with Bobby McMullen (legally blind Santa Cruz "Free Agent" rider) earlier this summer. Some friends of mine were taking him shuttling in Pemberton and asked if I wanted to go. What an amazing experience! It really put riding, and life, in to perspective. It wasn't about racing or being the best but instead about what sports should be and that's having fun doing something you love.

I'm not trying to steal your thunder but instead share a little story of mine. It is truly amazing what can be accomplished with a little dedication. You guys are truly inspirational and I'm sure a lot of hockey players, young and old, could learn a lot from you!

BTW, I've sent you a PM regarding your raffle tickets.

[valo403]

What kind of volunteering needs do you guys have? I'm not sure that I'm in a position to do much (only in town for a month or so) but if there's something that works I'd be interested.

[Kaon]

I'm not trying to steal your thunder but instead share a little story of mine. It is truly amazing what can be accomplished with a little dedication. You guys are truly inspirational and I'm sure a lot of hockey players, young and old, could learn a lot from you!

Definitely not stealing any thunder. I've seen these guys do some amazing things outside of hockey as well, and every time I find it inspiring. Being around people like this who work past something like this and enjoy life really are inspirational.

What kind of volunteering needs do you guys have? I'm not sure that I'm in a position to do much (only in town for a month or so) but if there's something that works I'd be interested.

Mostly coming out and playing with us is what our volunteering consists of. We do minor fundraising (as you can see from the raffle tickets). If you have hockey equipment and want to come out for a few Sundays while you're in town let me know. At the least you'll get to see how it works. Send me a PM or reply on here if you're interested.

[Kybosh]

The only downside about playing blind hockey is that you have to put up with Kaon. What a jerk.

[Kaon]

Just wanted to bump this thread in case there were people considering coming out to play with us, or against us. The guys love being able to play a game every once in a while outside of our weekly scrimmage.

Also our raffle draw date is approaching in a little over 2 weeks, so if you are interested feel free to send me a PM. Link to the buy/sell forum is still in my original post in this thread so I won't repeat it here.

[FlamesKickAss]

Where do you guys normally play at ?

[Kaon]

We play at Rose Kohn, off Macleod and Heritage every Sunday night at 8:30 (with a few exceptions).

[Kaon]

I was going to create a new thread that would mirror this one while referencing our Raffle event this year (as the off-topic forum gets a lot more traffic than the buy/sell), but thought that it would be better to bump this one. The above information is still valid. We would love to play against anyone interested and am always open to having people come out as volunteers.

If you're interested in this years Raffle for an Autographed Sidney Crosby Team Canada jersey please go to this link for more information.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=97394

[Kaon]

As was the case for last year I don't want to create a whole new thread to discuss an old topic. As always we are interested in having guys come out and see what we're about.

This year we've lost a few of our blind players, one to failing health issues, and another just isn't coming out. But we do still have 3 core guys, one who is fully blind (his dog stays in the dressing room while we play), and a 4th who has never skated but is giving skating out, and playing goalie a shot.

Last year we had a CP member come out and write an article on our team. I haven't figured out how to get my scanner to pick up more than just the large picture that showed up in the Neighbours section, but it was fantastic to have him come out and meet the guys. And as was announced last year our Raffle winner was actually someone I sold a ticket to through CP!

If you're interested in purchasing tickets for our Raffle this year, please see the link below. This year we decided to go with an autographed Jarome Iginla jersey.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=115621

[Kaon]

I'd like to take the opportunity both to bump this post to entertain any questions people may have, including those of you who would be interested in coming out or seeing how blind hockey is played.

We have another raffle this year, and if you're interested I'd like to ask you to take a look at my post in the buy/sell forum.

We are Raffling off an autographed Sven Baertschi jersey this year.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...89#post4516889

The last TWO years have seen the winner come from a Calgarypuck forum member! Both Delgar and GreatWhiteEbola have won.

[StrykerSteve]

Serious question, how do the blind play hockey? Really curious about this.

[Kaon]

There are various levels of being visually impaired. For the most part I believe you are legally blind if you have less than 10% of your vision.

We have a steel puck with ball bearings in it to make sound, and as it travels over the ice, or is stickhandled with, or passed it rattles. Many of the players have a heightened sense of hearing as you can imagine, and they can orient themselves as the sound from skating is different when you're near the boards. As a sighed volunteer we assist with the play and talk to the players and support them on the ice.

We haven't had visually impaired goalies for a few years, but if we have a sighed goalie, they will often play blindfolded, and they listen for the sound of the puck. I've played net a few times (I'm not a goalie), and it is amazingly difficult to judge distance by sound.

I've seen players with a very wide range of skill, but we've had a few players who have lost their vision over time who played junior hockey years ago. They typically don't need to see the puck once it's on their stick.

There are actually teams in most major Canadian cities, and there's a few guys that try to generate interest in blind youth. They have a yearly tournament in Ontario, and are trying to do more to show blind youth that they can get involved and be active in a game any kid their age would play.

I've volunteered with them for 16 years, and it's been an amazing experience. We have goggles that limit vision, and it's amazing how hard it is to play without being able to see the puck, or players coming to check you.

[undercoverbrother]

I played in the CNIB Walter Gretzky golf tourny this past summer in Dead Rear.


They had goggles that made you legally blind. We had to put against legally blind fella. He kicked everyone's ass.

I am amazed that blind or near blind people could play hockey.

Truely amazing.