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British Sledge Hockey Association play off finals

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British Sledge Hockey Association Play Off Finals at Silverblades Widnes Ice Rink on Sunday September 1st 2013.

After a busy regular season, the Peterborough Phantoms were crowned Division 1 Champions, de-throning the Kingston Kestrels, the country’s most decorated side. These two sides will meet up in the Play Off Championship game.

Manchester Phoenix, in their inaugural season, finished 3rd in the league and will be taking on the Cardiff Devils, who were crowned Champions of Division 2, in the 3rd/4th place Play Off game. A brief write-up with photos is linked at the end of this article.

With many GB Sledge players on show for all four sides, and with GB Sledge Hockey still in the hunt for qualification for the 2014 Sochi Paralympics, this will be a great showcase for the sport and for showing off the talent we have here in the UK.

The game of sledge hockey was invented in the 1960's in Sweden, when a few guys wanted to carry on playing hockey despite their disabilities... so they came up with a basic sledge design and it has been a growing sport ever since! Although a Paralympic sport, it is played by both disabled and able-bodied players and by men as well as women. Manchester Phoenix boasts a rough 50/50 split between able-bodied and disabled players.

Although the Manchester Phoenix team was formed only a year ago, they already have four players who are part of the GB set up and hope to produce more players in the future. Based in Altrincham and Widnes rinks, Phoenix hope to spread the word about this unique full contact sport and help set up a second team, specifically for Widnes. Our players are based all over the North West. Manchester, Rochdale, Merseyside; the area covered is huge.

The first game is scheduled to face off at 5pm. This will be Manchester Phoenix v Cardiff Devils, with the Championship game following that.

Free admission means that it’s a great evening for the whole family with no expense!

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