Women's sledge hockey team holds tryouts as group looks to gain national recognition

Female sledge hockey players from across Canada are heading to the sleepy town of Amherstburg, Ont. as 24 athletes vie for one of 15 spots on the women's national team. 

Former Paralympic wheelchair racer, two-time Paralympic medallist and Windsorite, Jessica Matassa is among those looking for a spot. She's been on the team for the last three years. 

"I originally started with sledge hockey when I was ten years old," Matassa said on CBC Radio's Windsor Morning. 

"When I got into racing I let hockey go for a little bit but once I retired and was looking for something to remain active I got back into sledge and it wasn't even a year into it where that competitive spark came back."

Sledge hockey players sit in a bucket-type seat that's strapped to an aluminum frame fitted with skate blades. Athletes propel themselves on the ice using shortened hockey sticks with picks on the ends. 

Although she's looking forward to another exciting year of hockey, what Matassa and her teammates really want is to be recognized nationally by Hockey Canada, just as the Canadian men's sledge hockey team is. The recognition would bring funding and payment to her team.

Women's team fighting for sport

"It's been a bit of an issue of contention trying to get picked up by them," said Matassa. "We're our own organization, it's all volunteers, all athletes on our team are not paid to play."

Women's sledge hockey is not an official Paralympic event yet, which Matassa said is due to a lack of national teams to compete in the sport. 

A spokesperson for Hockey Canada said the organization's mandate is focused on sports recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Director of communications for Hockey Canada, Lisa Dornan, said although women's Paralympic hockey is not currently recognized by the IPC, the organization still provides jerseys, funding and insurance to the team to help grow the game both in Canada and internationally. 

"We see this working relationship with Canada's National Women's Para Hockey Team as a positive step forward in the development of the women's game," Dornan said in an emailed statement to CBC News. 

"Grassroots para hockey is all-inclusive regardless of gender, and supported through Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Foundation through legacy funding through the hosting of events such as the newly re-branded Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup and the Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf, for example."

Hear more from Matassa on CBC's Windsor Morning:

Dornan said the "working relationship" with the team is seen as a positive step forward in the development of the women's game. 

"I want to see it through to the end," said Matassa, who has been fighting for her team and others internationally. "I don't know if I'm going to be an athlete by the time we make it to that point, but we're hopeful that down the road we'll make it happen."

Small town arena the place to be

As for having the big tryouts in Amherstburg, that's something else Matassa has been striving for.

"That was a little bit of my doing," she said.

Matassa said the Libro Credit Union Centre was designed to be extremely accessible, from the streamlined way players can get onto the ice to the dressing rooms. 

"Sledge hockey is open to anybody with a disability, whether you have an amputation or any kind of physical disability, but our team in particular has a lot of chairs," she said. "So when you try to stick 20 chairs into a dressing room you're very thankful when they're big."

On-ice tryout sessions begin Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

All of the ice sessions are open to the public and free of charge.