‘Hockey is not just an able-bodied sport’: A look at the Fredericton Caps Para Hockey
- Brianna Lyttle
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Fredericton Caps Para Hockey team is open to all, regardless of age, gender, skill level and physical ability or disability. Ran by Shawn Dickerson and Shane Dunnett, the club aspires to make hockey as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Para hockey, formerly known as sledge hockey, trades skates for double-bladed sledges to aid with mobility, aiding each player having two sticks for pushing and shooting. The sport was created for hockey players with physical disabilities, being a key part of the Paralympics since 1994.
Dickerson and Dunnett also run a New Brunswick-wide group known as Team NB Para Hockey, which they take to tournaments.
Most recently, the team played three teams from PEI and Nova Scotia in their annual tournament on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, consisting of 40+ participants. Team NB took home bronze, a feat that they repeated at the tournament they played in South Shore.
“During the times that we were playing years ago, we had a pretty strong team. We had some quick players [who] have since moved on. We're kind of going through a bit of a change right now,” said Dickerson.
Dickerson spent his whole life playing hockey until an illness in 2002 stopped him from being able to skate, leading to a lengthy break from the sport.
“All those years later, you kind of miss getting on the ice and the whole getting dressed atmosphere … camaraderie and so on with the guys."
The idea to start a para hockey team came about in 2015, when Dickerson and Dunnett were engaging in “try-it” exercises with sledges at a local rink. The duo’s combined lifelong passion for hockey led them to form a group.
They spent two years getting as much experience as possible before competing in their first tournament.
“I believe [in] 2018 we had our first tournament here in Fredericton and there may have been, what we call the Jamboree around 2017 or 2018 before our tournament, where we invited the Quebec team.”
The Quebec team brought with them a high skill level, inspiring the New Brunswick players to grow their own.
As it currently stands, the Fredericton team has grown in diversity, with able- and disabled-bodied players of multiple genders and ages ranging from ten to sixty-two.
Dickerson wants people to know that “hockey is not just an able-bodied sport,” adding that able-bodied players find para hockey “very challenging and difficult.”
He added that the disabled players “feel free on the ice,” a freedom that he hopes to continue cultivating as the club keeps growing.
The team runs games and development camps at the Grant Harvey Centre, with practices taking place from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.