Planet Ice and the Bison welcome everyone to Basingstoke

On Thursday 6^th July the British Sledge Hockey Association (BSHA), Planet Ice, Hampshire Sports Development and Basingstoke Bison all got together to provide the opportunity to the community of Basingstoke to experience and enjoy the sport of Sledge Hockey.

The session, led by GB Team Manager Red Geddes, was attended by schools and individuals from the local community and provided the opportunity for disabled and abled bodied people to enjoy skating and playing ice sledge hockey.

Steve Moria, Head Coach of the Bison, attended the session and was ensured that the children that attended were engaged in a fun, friendly game of Sledge Hockey and offered complimentary tickets to everyone who attended, saying, “some of the guys who’ve tried Sledge Hockey today never realised that they could be part of the Bison family and it’s important that we make them feel welcome and try and get them to become part of the herd”. The “herd” Steve refers to is the name given to the Basingstoke Bison fans.

Becky Crisp who brought a school group comprising of young people with both learning and physical disabilities said, “Wow, what a wonderful opportunity. The kids were buzzing about it on the way back to school and have not stopped talking about it since. It was a truly magical experience to watch them grasp the basic skills so quickly and gain the freedom of movement so many of them struggle with usually”.

The BSHA is grateful to Planet Ice for donating the session at Basingstoke (worth approximately £600) and for giving the Basingstoke community the chance to try Sledge Hockey. John Neville, Managing Director of Planet Ice said, “until recently most disabled people could only access ice rinks by being pushed around them in their wheelchairs. This is something I found completely unacceptable and I am proud that Planet Ice is working with the BSHA to ensure that everybody, regardless of whether they can ice skate or not, can enjoy using our ice rinks and have the opportunity to participate in a sport I believe is the most inclusive in the world”.