The newly formed Melville Sledge Dogs is the first sledge hockey team in Melville for kids under the age of 13.
The Sledge Dogs were created by Tracy Delainey. She took her 11-year-old daughter Anya, who has spina bifida, to play sledge hockey in Regina two years ago and wanted to bring the game closer to home.
“We just felt that having one in our hometown and that we could support and promote and to have family and friends watch really that’s why we wanted to do it,” Delainey said.
Delainey sought help from community volunteers and donations. Melville Prairie Fire female Midget AAA coach Casey O’Brien and his team also wanted to lend a hand.
“We’re really excited to be part of this and help them,” O’Brien said. “We were able to donate jersey until they got their team jerseys; we donated some of our practice jerseys for the practices. So it’s been a lot of fun.”
Although sledge hockey was initially designed for people with disabilities, able-bodied kids are also getting in on the action.
“There are five kids for sure that have a disabilities of some sort and then the rest are able bodied,” Delainey said. “Some are siblings, some are friends, some are just kids in the communities that saw the posters and came out and tried and thought it looked great.”
Currently, there are only five other sledge hockey teams in the province, including teams in Regina, Saskatoon and Kindersley.
Based on reporting from CTV Alessandra Carniero
