Disabled players compete in sled hockey tournament Sunday
Sports4Life Sled Hockey Classic held at The Rinks at Exeter
A two-day hockey tournament for disabled players wrapped up this weekend.
The Sports4Life Sled Hockey Classic was held Saturday and Sunday at The Rinks at Exeter.
The event was held by the Northeast Sled Hockey League, an organization that offers a chance for those without the use of their legs to play sled hockey at a competitive level.
The league said 22 percent of the league’s players are recently disabled veterans. Player Christy Gardner lost the use of her legs eight years ago while serving in the U.S. army.
“It’s an opportunity to be competitive despite not having all of my legs anymore and some other body parts and things like that. So despite my disability, I can still be super active, super competitive, and compete at a high level,” Gardner said.
The winners of the tournament will have the opportunity to compete for a national title.
NESHL said it is the first-ever organized, multi-state, adult sled hockey league in the United States with teams and athletes coming from Maine to Maryland. The season typically kicks off in September and runs through March of the following year.
