Hi Gary here,

Just a reminder to you good people - please go to Albums (click top or bottom), then click on the link at the bottom ('click here for music with slide show'). You'll be reminded how courageous and determined you Amputees are. Great song too, don't forget to turn your speakers up. :o)

Please also read Aidan's golf story. Aidan started First Swing Golf Clinics at the age of 12 and is now 15.

Enjoy,

Gary

 

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18^th May 2010

After trying to promote Amputee Ice Hockey in Australia for the past few years without success I have finally realised my own dream of playing the game I love on the world stage. At the age of 62 I had almost given up on the idea until a few months ago when I was invited to play on a world team at the Standing Ice Hockey World Championships, which were being held in Montreal Canada.

Having only played Inline Hockey for a few years I only had a couple of months to convert to Ice Hockey, which is not only a different skating technique, but adjustments had to be made to the prosthesis to compensate for finding the edges which isn’t necessary on roller blades. Fortunately the new Melbourne Ice rink at The Ice House, Docklands, gave me the opportunity to get some valuable ice time on most days of the week.

Only two players represented Australia on the World Team, Myself, Ren Gallet and Ben Cridland. The rest of the team was made up of players from Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Canada, and Finland.

The experience for me was fantastic to be able to play with other disabled players and finally set a benchmark for myself which has never been possible because I have only ever played with able bodied players. I was also able to make new friends and meet players who were not amputees but were classified as disabled players on the various teams. This allows us to widen our search in Australia outside the realms of amputation when looking for new players interested in joining an Australian team. The classification process has wider implications than we once thought.

Ice Hockey Australia, IHA, have posted the news of the event with photo’s of myself and Ben on their web site, so also have the International Paralympic Commitee. Ice Skating for a below knee amputee like Ben and me is the most difficult of disciplines, in my opinion, that is why there are no ice skating events held at the winter paralympic games, and to be finally recognised for our efforts by the IHA and the IPC is fantastic. Sadly, the Australian Paralympic Commitee have never recognised our efforts and although the news was posted on the IPC web site it didn’t find space on the APC web site unfortunately.

The format of introducing a world team was a huge success enabling disabled players from various countries to participate in a sport they love so the ISIHF have decided to keep this format. The next World championships will be held in Helsinki Finland in 2012 and hopefully, with good health, I will join the world team there too.

REN GALLET.

 

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13^th May 2010

Australians Represent Australia At The World 2010 Standing Amputees Championships

Australians Ren Gallet and Ben Cridland represented Australia at the fifth World 2010 Standing Amputees Championships hosted by the Defi Sportif at Aréna Saint-Michel in Montreal, Canada from the 27th April to 02nd May.

Although Australia does not yet have a full team, Ren & Ben were invited to play on a combined "World Team" by the International Standing Ice Hockey Federation (ISIHF). The World Team is made up of players from countries such as Australia, Italy, Israel and Germany who only have one or two players who can play, but are unable to field a complete team. Because of its success the ISIHF have decided to include the World Team in all future international competitions.

The World Team played against four-time world champions Canada and teams from the United States, Latvia and Finland.

Through the ISIHF's introduction of the World Team, Ren and Ben have agreed to be part of the team at the next World Championships which are to be hosted in Helsinki, Finland in 2012. Others Australian standing amputee players who meet the Championship's eligibility criteria also have an opportunity to participate. 
The major objective of the ISIHF is to have the Standing Amputees included in the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games. If Australia is unable to put forward a team, both Ren and Ben will again make themselves available for the World Team.