There's excitement in the air as the hockey game gets underway. Players and teams are revved up and the action is intense and riveting. The game is not taking place at an arena, but rather at a public school gym located in Bayview and Eglinton avenues area of North York.
The sport is electric wheelchair hockey and don't dare tell participants that their passion and desire for it is any less than it is for able-bodied hockey players.
Riverdale resident Esther Dzura is president of the eight team co-ed Toronto Power Wheelchair Hockey League (TPWHL) for kids, teenagers and adults with limited upper body strength and/or mobility. The two-year-old league plays its games on weekends at Sunny View Public School, and was the brainchild of Dzura and TPWHL general manager Paul MacDougall, who both were previously involved in another wheelchair hockey organization.
"That organization discontinued the junior division, and parents of those kids wanted that division to continue on," she said.
The league is comprised of a pair of four-team divisions. The junior division has approximately 30 boys and girls with a disability aged 8 to 17 and the co-ed senior division is comprised of 40 adults with a disability, aged 17 and older.
Players come from North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough, and as far away as Pickering, Milton and Cambridge, with weekend games taking place from October through May.
TPWHL is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from organizations and fundraising from family and friends of the players, Dzura said. Expenses include league insurance and gym rental from the Toronto District School Board.
"Parents of our players have gone to their employers on a consistent basis to obtain donations, and our players have been involved in fundraising efforts as well," Dzura said. "One of our adult players, Krystal Macleod (a North York resident) obtained a $1,000 donation from the Rotary Club of North York which will be presented to our organization at an April 6th TPWHL junior playoff game."
She added that electric wheelchair hockey gives kids and adults a sense of belonging "in a team sport, a sense of independence and enabling them to be with their peers in a social setting."
Scarborough resident MacDougall, 53, remarked that many children love the game of hockey and wanted to ensure all kids, no matter their disability, would have a chance to pursue their sporting passion.
"I met Esther at a wheelchair hockey game seven years ago, and knew she had built up a lot of contacts over the years," said MacDougall. "Her 16-year-old son Michael has had a spinal tumour disease since birth. He's a tremendous graphic artist who types with a mouthstick, and has designed our league's website (www.tpwhl.com). I'm in print sales and brought him in to my workplace, and everyone was amazed at the quality of his graphic work."
He added the inaugural season involved only a junior division, and that adults with a disability from another wheelchair organization were upset that their junior division was discontinued and decided to join the TPWHL.
"We are the only city in Canada, which currently has a junior electric wheelchair hockey division," he noted.
An electric wheelchair hockey game involves five players per team on the floor including three forwards, one defenceman and one goalie. Games consist of three 15-minute periods of running time, with the last two minutes of each period played in stop time. A 'whiffle ball' with holes is used, with most players using new floor ball hockey sticks.
"Some players who are unable to use their hands tie their sticks to their wheelchairs, using a peg," he said. "They're just as competitive as players who can use their hands, and are usually defensive forwards. There are many exciting plays during our games, as sometime back we had an adult Hindu goalie that stopped a shot in a game using the top of his turban."
Coaches are instructed to give all their players equal time on the floor as much as possible, and to have them drive their wheelchairs safely at all times. Team penalties can be assessed if either of those rules are broken during play.
"We put pylons up during practice, to ensure players drive safely during games," said MacDougall.
Players look eagerly towards their weekly games, and were upset with the weather this past winter in Toronto that led to some cancellations.
"With the snowstorms last month and the subsequent March break when Sunny View was closed, we had a situation of no games for four weeks," MacDougall remarked. "When we resumed play after Easter, the kids were so excited to get back playing wheelchair hockey. Every player from all teams was there for all games, that weekend."
As part of a mentoring focus, coaches of TWPHL Junior teams still compete as players in the senior division and provide so much compassion to the players, MacDougall said.
"They gather their players into little groups and teach some aspects of the game, and are always encouraging them. Their message is better than what parents, teachers or therapists can provide them at times."
He's hopeful the junior division will grow in 2008/09, with help from fundraising and donations.
"A brother of a junior player, who has brittle bone affliction, plays on a soccer team," MacDougall said. "He convinced his teammates and their parents to raise funds, being thankful that they're able-bodied. They presented us with a $1,000 cheque, which was greatly appreciated by all."
Individuals from the TWPHL have also competed in tournament play. In 2001, a co-ed adult Canadian team won gold at a world electric wheelchair hockey tournament in Minneapolis, competing against all-male teams from the U.S., Finland, Italy and Australia.
"We played with three girls on the floor, and other teams bragged they would defeat us badly," said MacDougall. "Our girls were as tough as any opposing guys, and we won the gold medal. We were led by Michelle Duble who currently coaches in our junior division and Sandy McGrath."
He added a Canadian team will be competing in a tournament this coming July.
TWPHL junior playoffs are currently underway, with senior playoffs soon to follow.
For more details on TWPHL and donation possibilities, e-mail Dzura at estherdzura@hotmail.com