Midway through the month of March, a highly successful, first-of-its-kind demonstration of hockey on wheelchairs was held in Lousada, Portugal under the Erasmus Hockey4All (H4A) program of the European Hockey Federation (EHF). The Erasmus Hockey4All program was launched by the EHF in 2022 to use hockey as a means to encourage people, young and old, including those with physical and mental disabilities, to see beyond their differences and lead a physically healthy lifestyle through sports.

The participants in the demonstration were wheelchair basketball players from the club Lousavidas who were enthusiastic to try the sport. The game was played on the indoor court with the use of indoor hockey goals. Each side fielded 5 players satisfying the 11-point criteria used in the wheelchair basketball classifications. The rules of the game were similar to indoor hockey with no lifting of the ball permitted and the sticks could not be raised higher than the knee level while attempting to make contact with the ball.

The feedback from the players, who thoroughly enjoyed the experience, was overwhelmingly positive. It was their belief that with some minor tweaks, the game had a real chance of becoming an activity they would undertake in the basketball off-season, which lasts over 6 months. In their opinion, the changes that would improve the game included the use of a smaller goalpost to make defending on a wheelchair an easier task. A bigger ball, similar to the size of a beach hockey ball would make it easier to play and also prevent the ball from getting stuck under the wheelchairs. Protective covering of the wheels would also be essential to ensure that sticks do not mistakenly get stuck inside the spokes of the wheel.

Hugo Santos, who is a development committee member at Euro Hockey, was the proponent of this demonstration, through the Erasmus Hockey4All program. Speaking of the event Hugo said, “The players enjoyed the event a lot. They liked the sport and the speed at which it was played. The wheelchair basketball season only lasts 3 months in a year in the club system in Portugal, so the players are open to trying other sports in the off-season. With a few tweaks we have an excellent adaptation of hockey that athletes with reduced physical mobility can participate in. We are planning to hold more demonstrations with other clubs in Portugal to get further opinions in an attempt to refine the game and make it viable for all.”

While this program is still in its nascent stages, it provides a significant first step towards making the sport of hockey accessible to all, irrespective of their age, gender, mental and physical abilities.