[Paralympic Preview] 3. Ice hockey, wheelchair curling
Mar 12,2018
| The Olympic and Paralympic Games have similar events, but feature sports that are different in many ways, including in terms of required gear and game rules. Korea.net is here to give you a Winter Paralympics preview. We will compare six Paralympic events with their Olympic counterparts: para alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para snowboarding and wheelchair curling. We’ll introduce them as a series to help readers fully enjoy the ongoing PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. |
Jung Seung Hwan watches for a chance to pass the puck in front of his opponent in a preliminary match against the Czech Republic in the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics ice hockey competition at the Gangneung Hockey Center in Gangwon-do on March 11. (Heo Manjin, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
By Kang Gahui and Yoon Jihye
Para ice hockey and wheelchair curling are both coed sports where male and female athletes with lower limb impairments compete on the ice.
The only equipment that the intense, fast-paced para ice hockey has in common with Olympic ice hockey is the puck. The rest of the gear is all totally different.
The most remarkable feature is the double-bladed sled on which athletes sit. Many of the athletes have legs that are amputated or paralyzed, so they sit on a sled with two long blades instead of using regular skates. The sled has to be high enough for the puck to pass underneath.
Para ice hockey athletes use two sticks. On one stick is a saw-toothed pick that helps to propel the sled forward, and the other has an end like a standard hockey stick, with which they hit the puck.
The game rules are very similar to those of their Olympic counterparts. The game consists of three periods of 15 minutes each, and is five minutes shorter per period than Olympic ice hockey.
Rune Lorentsen of Norway throws a stone during the coed wheelchair curling match against the U.K. at the Gangneung Curling Center on March. 10. (PyeongChang Organizing Committee)
In wheelchair curling, the curling sheet and house are the same as in the Olympics, but at least one female athlete should be included on the team.
The biggest difference is that the athletes can't sweep in wheelchair curling.
Throwing the stone is the only way to place the stone in the house, so the athletes require a higher level of accuracy in their throws.
The curling sheet has two wheelchair lines to help the athletes in wheelchairs throw the stone. When an athlete is throwing a stone, one of their teammates holds the wheelchair steady from behind.
Athletes often use supplementary gear, called a delivery stick, to help throw the stone.
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