Speaker 0 00:00:05 Choice and control a podcast, celebrating people with disability in this season, we're talking about access inclusion and the national disability insurance game. This podcast series is brought to you by carers Queensland and dis local area coordination partner in the community.
Speaker 1 00:00:23 Hi, I'm Taryn Forster. What comes to mind when you think about iconic Queensland sports state of origin, beach cricket, maybe surfing. You're probably not thinking of ice hockey, but the sport has a Queensland following. And today we're taking a break from the heat and getting some ice time. I dropped in at para ice hockey. Queensland's recent training session at ice world skating rink, boondoggle to meet the team and have a go myself today. We'll hear from a coach about the benefits of the sport, as well as the head of ice world, about how the accessible sessions have brought new players to the facility. But first I caught up with a couple of players to find out more about the sport itself.
Speaker 2 00:00:59 Hi, I'm Cecelia. I am a mother. I am a para ice hockey participant. I was introduced to the sport by one of the members of the paradise hockey team. Uh, he heard my story about how, when, um, before my stroke, um, I was into a lot of extreme sports and he came and spoke to me at the end and said, you can still do a sport. Have you ever heard of sledge hockey? I said, have not. I didn't even think I could do it cause I only have the one working arm. Um, so I'm picturing myself out of any sport that requires two arms, which is really hard for me, cause I was, I just wanted to be involved in sport again. So, um, I took up his OPA to come and give it a go, which meant I needed a pushup, someone. Uh, my sledge has a handlebars first, an able-bodied skater to push me around on and that's um, how I can be involved in the sport. And so it was very exciting for me. I think that first few sessions, I was just like, Oh, it was over excited to say the least. And now it's, um, the has been, um, uh, calming down of that excitement and learning the rules and, and skills that come along with that. Obviously handling the puck with one stick, um, requires some interesting techniques I need to get used to. And Cecilia, you mentioned that you were able to bring
Speaker 1 00:02:28 Some family along, you had your son join you. Is that right?
Speaker 2 00:02:31 Yeah. My son came to come and try day and he was super excited. I just, um, didn't think I'd be participating in sports with my son for some strange reason. So, um, para ice hockey is just open that door and he was very excited. He wants to have his birthday party on, um, paradise equipment.
Speaker 3 00:03:00 Um, I would love to have him come along more. A few more times.
Speaker 1 00:03:05 Tony dove and dance is a singer. We'll find out more about that in a minute and another para ice hockey player. So Tony, how does it compare to the mainstream version?
Speaker 3 00:03:14 The game is very similar to able-bodied ice hockey in that you have, uh, five skaters on the ice and one goalie per team positionally, you play the same. The protective equipment is all the same. You just have the difference of sitting on a sledge with a couple of skates underneath you. You're propelling yourself with two hockey sticks instead of one with picks in the butt end of each stick so that a they can grip the ice and propel you forward the other end of the stick. Of course you use for shooting or passing handling.
Speaker 1 00:03:54 So if you could tell me then how did you get into para ice hockey?
Speaker 3 00:03:58 One of the other fellows, Andrew, um, told me about it, word of mouth that seems to be more successful.
Speaker 1 00:04:06 Where would you like to see the sport go?
Speaker 3 00:04:09 Well, we still have sporadic numbers. We we've only got the ice time at the moment mid week in the mornings. And, uh, that doesn't suit everybody, of course, because people work or go to school, getting an opportunity to play outside of business hours would be good so that we can attract more people once we get to 20 or so people on a regular basis, we can look at switching players in and out during a game situation or a simulation of a game so that we can get used to the whole idea of substitutions and then building up the numbers from there. We could possibly have two preferably three teams of people in Brisbane alone. Just able to have a friendly little social competition, Gregor Rosenberg. Is there an accent you can pick her Swedish. Um, but I've been in Australia for what is it that 13, 14 years I play and coach ice hockey able-bodied and sledge hockey. I've been doing that for most of my life. More or less
Speaker 1 00:05:15 Greg, from a coaching perspective, what would you say are the highlights of para ice hockey?
Speaker 3 00:05:22 So as Tony mentioned, it is very similar structurally. Um, the, uh, ice hockey, um, uh, is played, um, as an, um, an aerobic sport. So you supposed to be out on the ice and then you change the so and that's maintains and makes sure that the speed is high. So you're actually, so the team overall, even though, as Tony mentioned, is only five skaters plus plus the goalie on the OSAP in quantum time per team, the team itself would actually be up to 15 or 20 skaters. Um, but you sort of you're the lead out and shifts if you like without with, without stopping the play. And that sort of maintains the speed and the intensity. So when you watch a sledge or able-bodied hockey, you're wondering how these guys can do it for such a long they don't. Um, they only do it for 40 seconds at a time, every three, four minutes, but structurally, uh, rule wise is very similar to a couple of small, um, differences when it comes to penalties and things like that, as you would expect, then it's obviously a little bit harder to trip somebody off and when they are in the sled, um, but you could hook them or you could smash and things like that.
Speaker 3 00:06:36 So those penalty rules are very similar. So overall structurally and tactically, is it fairly similar
Speaker 1 00:06:44 And Greg <inaudible>, um, in terms of, um, taking the sport forward, obviously if it's, uh, uh, from a coaching perspective, you would see some other elements as well. What would you like to see?
Speaker 3 00:06:55 So chalk is no different to eat able body hockey in terms of numbers in Australia, it's not in minority sport, able-bodied I think is placed number 33 out of 37 countries. So that will tell you something. And partly the reason for that is number one, it's minority sport, and many people don't know it exists. Secondly, um, ice time, availability and resources in terms of ice rinks is obviously, uh, um, uh, another reason, but there's also the distances. So if you only have opportunity to play against interstate teams, um, once or twice a year, then all you end up with is competition within each city. And it's the same for Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, um, and, um, and Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney slightly different because they have two or three rinks or four or five even. And so they are able to have a slightly more, um, large participation, which means you have a more healthy tournament and, and competition overall, as Tony mentioned for us to, to be able to bring this forward at all, we would need to increase the numbers, not only in Brisbane to around 25 30, but we'd need 25, 30, or even more in Sydney, we would need for 30 people in Victoria, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3 00:08:14 And then we may be able to, um, on a maybe quarterly basis have interstate tournament, larger participation that yes, you develop skills. Yes, you develop the understanding of the overall game, but if you've never allowed to put it into practice, then you never really know how the game is really played on in the heat of the moment, if you might. And without that, and we wouldn't, we will never be able to have an, uh, competitive and national teams harassed. So chocolate is no different in terms of its challenges to able-bodied hockey. And in many ways, even though the rules are the same or structure the same or the, the field is the same. If you like the rink is the same, it is two separate sports. So there's nothing stopping abled bodies to participate, but also the level of disability, because the group is very varied. So their level of disabilities range from, you know, uh, lower limb amputees to a quadriplegic and, and, or healthy, able body full-stop and all of them can participate on almost equal basis. For example, in a case there is opportunity to have a pusher and off you go, and you, you, you still active, um, and still participating in not only in the sport itself, but also in the social activity of playing a game. So again, I think there's opportunity for all abilities.
Speaker 1 00:09:43 So what would people expect if they turned up to a come and try session or a training session,
Speaker 3 00:09:50 Probably they could expect to, uh, meet the ice a few times. You don't stay upright all the time in this game, much as you might try, but there's not a long way to fall. You just have to get used to, to balance. You can get very impressed very quickly with how fast and how far the puck can travel when it's hit. Yeah. The speed of the game can, can really be up there when you're into it.
Speaker 1 00:10:19 Tony and Cecilia, you are both receiving indice funding. Is the, Endis supporting you in any way to take part in this sport?
Speaker 2 00:10:28 Uh, yes, I I'm. I'm supported via, um, the ability to get, uh, my pusher for the sled to attend with me. It's social code, um, social support, um, access to that part of the component through NDA. Yes. So, um, I couldn't do this sport without it. I'm really grateful that NDA has provided that kind of support, right?
Speaker 3 00:10:55 No, I didn't need that side of things going. Uh, I can get myself to and from the rink okay. And organize myself into my gear and my sled. But, uh, I actually applied to receive the funding for my sled through the NDIS. They are supporting people who are wanting to play sport and recreation for fun and for fitness and the, and the social aspect of it quite well. That is, um, a really good part of the NDA. Ish.
Speaker 1 00:11:29 Can each of your opinions, um, what, um, what could sport do to be more inclusive of people with disability,
Speaker 2 00:11:38 Thinking outside the box for all abilities, to be able to come and try, um, sport in general, another sport I've found particularly, um, accessible is sailing, and I'm
Speaker 3 00:11:54 Quite open to looking at your needs and seeing what you need and what they could do to work with you. And if more sports in general started looking at it from that aspect, what they can do and what resources they have available for them to make it more accessible, then it doesn't matter your ability, it's all abilities. I'm welcome to come and share certainly sports educators and, um, coaches can have in mind that there's a disability community, as they're wonderful to have people like Greg or come and be involved in the sport. And I know you said Greg, or you don't see it as a disability sport as such a sports. If they are run right, could be accessible to the broadest level of disabilities. And so anyone after which I feel are can't do this, or this is scary or whatever, they should just try whatever they feel is convenient for them or closest whether it's pasta or swimming or ice hockey or whatever it may be whatever's closest and most available.
Speaker 3 00:13:03 There's massive social components. So winning, losing, and training and playing games, all of those sort of things are fine. The aspiration for being playing in competitive team, or, you know, even for Australia that that's a completely side issue here. I think the, the social component is way more important and just to get out there and having a go. So whenever there's a come and try for any sport, I think I would encourage anyone to try whatever and something will stick. I think the sledge community has done really well in terms of both the support for Mendo, IAS and other grounds, both state and federal. So the equipment is available and that's probably the first thing people will notice when they come to for come and try is there's a lot of gear that they need to put on helmets, you know, cages and gloves and things have had to, to stay safe, but all of that's available. So there's nothing, there's no hurdles. I feel please correct me. If I'm wrong, please keep in mind is social networking, the aspect of it. And that's, that's what I'm seeing as the biggest contribution.
Speaker 1 00:14:07 Keith Fullerton is the chief executive officer of ice skating, Queensland and ice world Olympic rinks in Acacia Ridge and boondoggle, which is the home of para ice hockey in Queensland. Keith recently headed out onto the ice to have a go himself, taking a break from the interesting job of running an ice skating rink in the subtropics,
Speaker 4 00:14:24 Managing ice rinks in Queensland is a difficult process, especially around weather, uh, summer, while we generate a significant income through summer. It's primarily based on the fact that it's steady five degrees outside at 10 degrees inside. So being able to keep that 10 degrees is a challenge. It's something, um, we do all year round, but definitely hotter three summer. And, uh, we try to make sure we accommodate everybody in that space.
Speaker 1 00:14:54 You recently took your first turn on the ice with, um, para ice hockey Queensland at a training session at ice. Well boondoggle, what was that like?
Speaker 4 00:15:03 Oh, that was fantastic. Lot of fun, really easy to get a grasp of everyone was welcoming. It was such an enjoyable experience and they're actually on the ice as we speak. And I'm tempted to go down there and jump on again, but, you know, duty calls and I have to do my jobs. So, but it was an amazing experience and would recommend it to anybody.
Speaker 1 00:15:25 I swelled have supported para ice hockey Queensland in a number of ways. Can you tell me about that and why the organization stepped up?
Speaker 4 00:15:34 Yeah. So Kelvin approached us about 18 months ago. I'm looking for an opportunity to be able to give access to the disabled community, to be able to have an activity that they could participate in on the ice. Uh, we give it to them at a significantly reduced rates. So it costs about $265 per hour for every hour that we're open to maintain the ice. We charge them a significantly reduced rates. They pay up her head and it's very limited at $5 to enable people to access that without having the restrictions of the financial burden of being able to access, uh, the ice sport, uh, cause they are generally quite expensive
Speaker 1 00:16:16 Now from your perspective, um, as the CEO of, um, ice skating Queensland and, um, I swirled Olympic ranks. Where would you like to see para ice hockey in say three to five years' time? And what do you think it will take to get there?
Speaker 4 00:16:33 From our perspective? I think the biggest thing that we'd like to see is for it to develop and grow and be able to operate as much as possible, like a mainstream sport hockey access, a lot of ice, curling speed, all access, a lot of ice plus ice skating Queensland, which, um, I'm the CEO of including and including the public. So with those sports accessing the biggest challenge that we have moving forward is having enough. I survivable to be able to accommodate everyone and their ability to grow as it stands at the moment, most sports are restricted in their numbers. Uh, when it comes to being able to participate on the ice for us to be able to accommodate that better, we would really need to be looking at how we go about establishing another facility. Uh, and ideally it would be the Juul ice surface. Uh, so there'll be two surfaces in the one in the one building. And that would enable us to be able to offer all I say to those people requiring it at the time that they require it
Speaker 1 00:17:41 From a business and sports administration perspective. Um, what do you think sports can do to be more inclusive of people? Disability? Yeah,
Speaker 4 00:17:50 I suppose there's a number of things it's been, I think the first thing is being welcoming and looking at being able to modify and adapt your programs, your sports or activities to meet the needs of the people who are attending. And it's not just those people with, um, disabilities it's people from culturally different backgrounds, it's people who have different experiences and letting them bring those experiences in and modifying and adapting to make those people wa one feel welcome and be able to participate in an activity. You know, there's a lot of sports out there that are very focused on what they're trying to achieve and don't look outside of the square and ultimately, you know, there's a lot of ways in which you can tap into things. And it just means that you need to be a little bit more, less stringent with the way you operate and look at making the adjustments and modifications to meet the needs of that particular group.
Speaker 4 00:18:47 Uh, like we did with para hockey, you know, we had to make some adjustments here, how people got on and off the ice, how access was granted to the rink, the equipment that was being used on the rink, how we assisted in getting the place ready for them to be able to be here. Now, there are a number of things that we had to look at and we accommodated that to be able to make sure that we could meet the needs of that group. And we try to do that, not just with the sports, but with everybody who comes in. So we do exactly the same and that's what we would, that's what I'd be recommending to sports is there's plenty of ways to be able to do. The one thing is the, the journey doesn't have to be set. You can change that journey to get to that point, depending on the challenges that arise. And I think especially in the current environment with COVID, it gives you an opportunity to understand that you need to operate differently. If you're not op, if you're trying to operate in the same way, then you're not going to be able to do what you want to do or achieve the goals you needed to achieve. And you just apply that same process to any sporting group or disability group or community group and fit in with those needs. And you'd be surprised at what you can achieve.
Speaker 1 00:19:57 Sounds to me like the way that you have been able to adapt to, um, provide this opportunity is bringing you benefit as well. Is that, is that how you would see it?
Speaker 4 00:20:07 Definitely. Uh, the benefit to us is that we've got people utilizing our facility at a time that was quite for us. Um, we don't make money off it there's, it's not about the money. It's about making sure we're giving access to people who normally don't have access. And, and that's what we're trying to achieve is give everybody a good, positive, fun, friendly experience. Every time they come to the facility, whether it be with an affiliated sport, uh, public session or, or any other visit that they may have.
Speaker 0 00:20:39 Thanks for joining us at choice and control a carers Queensland podcast for more information about carers Queensland, but national insurance scheme or the local area coordination program. Please contact us
[email protected]. Or you can catch up with us on Facebook search for carers Queensland and D I S. This podcast is a place for people with disability to share experiences, stories, and achievements. If you have a story you think we should know about, please contact us through the carers Queensland inquiries line at one 300 triple nine, six, three six, or email CQ dot
[email protected] until next time. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 5 00:21:25 <inaudible>.
