Check out this amazing episode of “Level Playing Field” produced by our presenting partner Accessible Media Inc. that explains the #parasport of #Blind #Hockey, and profiles two prominent members of the Canadian Blind Hockey community.

First, we visit Canadian National Blind Hockey Team Captain Kelly Serbu who is a lawyer by trade, and who also serves as the volunteer President of Canadian Blind Hockey. Kelly tells his story of losing his vision to Stargartd Disease while playing Junior Hockey for the Halifax Mooseheads, and how our national program partner, the CNIB Foundation, helped him adapt his studies and pursue his law degree.  Kelly visits with the Ottawa 67’s Blind Hockey program powered by OSEG Foundation as he continues his mission of leading #Canada to victory, while inspiring the next generation of children and youth to try skating and #Blind #Hockey.

Next we visit with the “Voice of Blind Hockey,” ParaSport TV’s Nicco Cardarelli, who shares his passion for sportscasting, parasport in general, and all things Blind Hockey!  Nicco has been the primary sportscaster for every Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament since 2014, a variety of regional events, and both International Blind Ice Hockey Series.

“Ever since day one the goal was always to create international competition,” says our Executive Director Matt Morrow in the video.  “Our goal was to bring the sport to the United States which we have, now the goal is to bring the sport to #Finland, to #Sweden, to #Russia…ultimately our goal is to apply for inclusion in the Winter Paralympic Games.”

It’s been incredible to experience the growth of this game across Canada over the last decade, and extremely exciting to witness the sport now begin to grow around the world.  Thank you to Accessible Media Inc. for not only being our presenting partner but for helping to document this journey with this excellent episode of “Level Playing Field.”  Thank you to the CNIB Foundation for all that you do as our national program partner, as well as partners the Daniel Family Foundation, Electra Health, and Manion.

Canadian Blind Hockey is thrilled to announce that Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion Natalie Spooner is joining the charity to serve as its first-ever Ambassador.  Her primary role will be to help create awareness of the parasport of Blind Hockey in Canada, and to help recruit girls and boys who are blind or partially sighted into one of the 14 programs across the country.

“Natalie brings an infectious enthusiasm to the game of hockey as well as every project she approaches in life,” said Canadian Blind Hockey President and National Team Captain Kelly Serbu.  “She is a perfect fit as our first Ambassador to help grow the international side of the game, the women’s side of the game, as well as the parasport in general.  We are thrilled to welcome her on board as we work together to make hockey accessible to all Canadians who are blind or partially sighted.”

The parasport of Blind Hockey is played by athletes who are blind or partially sighted using an adapted puck that makes noise and is larger than a traditional puck. Spooner has a long history with the charity as she was on hand as a celebrity guest to award medals at the inaugural 2013 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament in Toronto.

“When I first experienced Blind Hockey I was blown away by the fact that players whose vision ranged from legally blind to completely blind could play the game so well” said Canadian Blind Hockey Ambassador Natalie Spooner. “Hockey has brought so much to my life and I’ve always believed that everyone should have an opportunity to play and to the learn the invaluable life lessons that are taught through hockey.

It’s exciting how much the parasport has grown with the National Team competing internationally, all of the children and youth programs in the country, as well as the new Women’s Blind Hockey Development Program.  It’s an exciting time for Canadian Blind Hockey, and I look forward to helping grow participation in the game at all levels.”

In addition to helping to grow participation at the grassroots level, Spooner’s extensive experience representing Canada on the world stage will be hugely beneficial to the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team Program which was founded in 2018. Canadian Blind Hockey continues to be a leader in growing the sport around the world, with goals of founding a Blind Ice Hockey World Championships, as well as ultimately applying for inclusion in the Winter Paralympic Games.

“Having Natalie Spooner come on board with her extensive experience and success at the World Championship and Olympic levels will certainly help Canada’s management team continue to raise the bar for the National Blind Hockey Team program,” said Matt Morrow, Executive Director of Canadian Blind Hockey and Sport Director for the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation. “I think her involvement also lends credibility to Blind Ice Hockey in general and will help to open doors as we work together create a truly international parasport.  It’s been incredible to witness how far this sport has grown over the past decade, and we are excited to see how far we can take it over the next ten years.”

About Natalie Spooner:

Natalie Spooner is an Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion with the Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team.  She is the first player to ever play for the U-18 National Team, U-22 Canada Team and Senior National team.  Outside of hockey Natalie is an avid volunteer and enjoys giving her time to causes and charity events and is passionate about the importance of empowering women and helping to get girls active in sports. Natalie is currently serving as a celebrity judge on season six of CBC’s “Battle of the Blades.” nataliespooner.com.

About Canadian Blind Hockey:

Canadian Blind Hockey is the national sports organization for the parasport of Blind Hockey in Canada. We change the lives of children, youth, and adults who are blind or partially sighted through our programs which include school field trips, youth teams, development camps, regional tournaments, and our flagship Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament.

Canadian Blind Hockey programs are made possible by our presenting partner AMI, and our national program partner the CNIB Foundation, as well as other generous partners and donors coast-to-coast.

AMI presents the:
2020 Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party

Brought to you by CNIB Foundation.

Join us to celebrate Blind Hockey from March 27 – 29!

Canadians coast-to-coast are practicing social-distancing, self-isolation, and are all working together to combat COVID-19.  Canadians coast-to-coast are also really missing hockey, and so we want to help by inviting you to our 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party!

This weekend was supposed to be the eighth annual Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament, taking place from March 27 – 29.  While we are all disappointed that we cannot get together to celebrate the parasport of Blind Hockey at this time, Canadian Blind Hockey is offering the next best thing with an online viewing party through our YouTube channel.

Join Parasport TV’s Nicco Cardarelli for a 40-minute pre-game show each day at 3:00 pm eastern / 12:00 pm pacific, where we recap the 2019 – 2020 Blind Hockey Season and discuss exciting developments in the parasport of Blind Hockey across Canada and around the world. Immediately following the pre-game show, we will be featuring games on our YouTube Channel throughout the weekend that showcase the Children, Youth, Low Vision & Development, Open, and Select Divisions from the 2019 National Blind Hockey Tournament.

As we all come together to enjoy these exciting Blind Hockey games, we want to engage our community to discuss everyone’s favourite parasport.  We invite you to discuss the pre-game show, as well as the feature games on the Facebook event page or on twitter using the hashtag #BlindHockeyAtHome.  We will also be live-tweeting the games throughout the weekend at the official @CDNBlindHockey twitter account.

As we all do our part and stay inside for Team Canada, join us for the 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey viewing party presented by AMI and brought to you by CNIB Foundation.  Canadian Blind Hockey programming is made possible by AMI, CNIB Foundation, and national partners the Daniel Family Foundation, Electra Health, and Manion.  The 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey viewing party is also sponsored by Ryerson University, the Toronto Education Workers, as well as many individual donors who had contributed in support of the 2020 National Tournament  – thank you for the support!

AMI is a proud supporter of Canadian Blind Hockey. For those of you unable to tune in this weekend – or want even more blind hockey coverage – a selection of past Canadian Blind Hockey tournaments is available as podcasts through the AMI-audio LIVE channel. For more information visit https://www.ami.ca/category/ami-audio-live.

Date	Time	Description
Friday March 27, 2020	3:00 pm – 3:40 pm: Pre-Game Day # 1	Nicco Cardarelli hosts the 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party Pre-Game Day # 1
Friday March 27, 2020	3:40 pm – 4:10 pm: Children’s Division	2019 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament Children Division Marlies vs. Roadrunners: https://youtu.be/rZlunqHIhBE
Friday March 27, 2020	4:10 pm – 5:20 pm: Low Vision and Development Division	2019 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament Low Vision Championship Game Toros vs. Arenas: https://youtu.be/OLT1kIqmLzk
Saturday March 28, 2020	3:00 pm – 3:40 pm: Pre-Game Day # 2	Nicco Cardarelli hosts the 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party Pre-Game Day # 2
Saturday March 28, 2020	3:40 pm – 4:40 pm: Youth Division	2019 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament Youth Division Championship Game Thunder vs. Furies: https://youtu.be/-omesicB8Bs
Saturday March 28, 2020	4:40 pm – 5:50pm: Open Division	2019 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament Open Division Championship Game Leafs vs. St Pats: https://youtu.be/WU1W0dZiwa4
Sunday March 29, 2020	3:00 pm – 3:40 pm: Pre-Game Day # 3	Nicco Cardarelli hosts the 2020 Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party Pre-Game Day # 3
Sunday March 29, 2020	3:40 pm – 5:40 pm: Select Division	2019 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament Canada East vs. Canada West Championship Game: https://youtu.be/LcNN16cqe7Q

Download and print here: Invitation – Canadian Blind Hockey Viewing Party – March 27 – 29

The 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament & Canada vs USA International Blind Ice Hockey Series takes place from Nov 8 through 10. If you are in the Ottawa region come on down to TD Place Arena to cheer our athletes on – admission is free of charge!

Can’t make it to Ottawa? Canadian Blind Hockey and Parasport TV has you covered. All games will be streamed live including play by play to make your hockey viewing experience accessible. Go to the Canadian Blind Hockey YouTube Channel to watch all the games live.

Watch Live Now

2019 Canadian Blind Hockey – Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament Schedule

Friday, November 8

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Canada vs USA Game # 1
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Open Division: Furies vs Red Blacks Game # 1

Saturday, November 9

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Canada vs USA Game # 2
3:00 pm – 3:50 pm – Ottawa 67’s & Canadian Blind Hockey Children and Youth Program
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Open Division: Furies vs Red Blacks Game # 2

Sunday, November 10

9:30 am – 11:00 am – Open Division: Furies vs Red Blacks Game # 3
11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Canada vs USA # 3

For more information, download the Ottawa Regionals Poster!

The 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament takes place the weekend of November 8^th through the 10^th at TD Place Arena in downtown Ottawa, ON.  The tournament is presented by AMI – Accessible Media Inc., and brought to you by CNIB Foundation.

The event includes the second ever International Blind Ice Hockey Series featuring Canada hosting the USA, an Open Division with players from across North America, and the launch of the all new “Ottawa 67’s & Canadian Blind Hockey Children and Youth Program powered by the OSEG Foundation.”

Canadian Blind Hockey invites the entire Ottawa community to come out and enjoy a thrilling hockey experience at TD Place, the event is 100% free to attend and fun for the whole family.  The tournament will also be broadcast live on the Canadian Blind Hockey YouTube Channel, and will feature the world’s best hockey players who are blind or partially sighted demonstrating the fast-growing parasport of Blind Hockey.

For volunteer opportunities for the 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament please click here to complete our volunteer registration form.

The 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament is made possible by the Daniel Family Foundation, Electra Health, Manion and local partners TD Canada Trust, the Ottawa 67’s and OSEG Foundation, and Parasport TV – thank you for your help in making hockey accessible to Canadians who are blind or partially sighted!

Blind Ice Hockey was invented in Canada in 1972 and now boasts ten programs across Canada, a dozen programs in the United States, and new programs in Russia, Finland, and England. The sport is played by athletes who range from legally blind – approximately 10% vision or less – to completely blind, using an adapted puck that makes noise and that is larger than a traditional puck.  More information about the sport and the organization can be found at canadianblindhockey.com and witnessed on the Canadian Blind Hockey YouTube Channel.

For more information:

Matt Morrow
Executive Director, Canadian Blind Hockey
Sport Director, International Blind Ice Hockey Federation
mattmorrow@blindicehockey.com

To print information: 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament Information

Canadian Blind Hockey programming is presented coast-to-coast by AMI – Accessible Media
Inc., brought to you by CNIB Foundation, and supported by national partners Daniel Family
Foundation, Electra Health, and Manion.

For more information:

Matt Morrow
Executive Director, Canadian Blind Hockey
Sport Director, International Blind Ice Hockey Federation
mattmorrow@blindicehockey.com

To print schedule: 2019 Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament Schedule – posted Oct 26 2019

2019 Canadian Blind Hockey Eastern Regionals & Canada vs USA

Ottawa, Ontario on November 8 to November 10

Toronto, Ontario March 26 – 29