Great Britain Women’s Para Ice Hockey have named their roster of 15 athletes to take part in World Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Challenge being held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA from August 26-28, 2022.

GB will be meeting USA, Canada and a special World team in this first for World Para Ice Hockey, with it being the first Women’s Para Ice Hockey competition sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). This is hoped to be a ‘stepping stone’ on the path to a Women’s World Championship and increased participation for women in Para ice hockey worldwide.

IPC-2022-Roster-GB-Women_final_updated-July-22

Fiona Rich, Team Manager said: “It is always amazing to be part of a “first” in anything and especially when it is related to a growth in sport; there’ll never be another first!

“It’s been a very busy year building up the team, sourcing regular ice time for camps, building up funding streams and trying to cram in several years worth of knowledge into the heads of relatively new athletes to the sport. We’ve done all we can and what Green Bay will give us, is experience to benchmark just how far we have come and set the new foundations to build on for a sustainable programme. That’s really the underpinning motivation for everyone’s involvement currently.

“There’s going to be so much to take away from the first IPC event and the very established teams of the USA and Canada. I think we are all very excited for the chance to represent GB and make this mark in history.”

The GB women’s program first met together in the current form in October 2021, with athletes from across Great Britain joining with a range of experience in Para Ice Hockey.

Ian Offers, Head Coach said: “It’s always a proud moment for me when I coach the National team at a tournament, and this tournament will be no different. It’s a great achievement when you consider that this GB Women’s Program only met for the first time in October 2021, and 10 months later we are part of the first formal IPC Women’s tournament, and starting the journey to see Women’s Para Ice Hockey eventually becoming a sport in the Winter Paralympics.

“It will be a great experience for the team to face off against the USA, Canada, and the Rest of the World Team and promote themselves on the World Stage. For a lot of the team, this will be their first experience of an IPC event, and also playing a large number of games in a short space of time, however we have trained long and hard for this are are all looking forward to introducing the world of Women’s Para Ice Hockey to the Great Britain Women’s team.

“Karl (Nicholson) and I have been involved in a number of Para Ice Hockey tournaments, both at a club and international level, and we are both looking forward to coaching the team in Green Bay and developing the team, and the sport further.”

For more information on supporting the GB Women’s Para Ice Hockey team with sponsorship, please email gbparaicehockey@gmail.com to speak to a member of the team. Follow the team’s progress on social media @gbwpih on Twitter.