Para ice hockey: Speed and elegance with stick and blade

Flying across the ice, rounding their opponents in elegant curves before firing the puck at high speed into the back of the net — ice hockey isn't one of the most popular winter sports in the world for nothing.

The difference here, however: these players are playing the world's fastest team sport sitting down. Sled hockey, also known as para ice hockey, was invented in Sweden in the 1960s and has been a Paralympic sport since 1994.

"Our equipment consists of a sled with a narrow blade beneath the seat," explains Bas Disveld, captain of the German sled hockey team. "Then we have two shortened sticks, one with a blade on the end [to strike the puck], the other with spikes [for grip]."

With the help of the spikes, the players propel themselves across the ice like cross-country skiers along a trail.

"The biggest challenge is keeping your balance," says Disveld. "It took me a while to master that."

Six teams, one goal: the Paralympics

Disveld and his teammates are currently battling for qualification for the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, which begin in March of next year.

"We need to finish first or second to fulfill our dream," he says at the qualification tournament in Berlin. "The prospect of playing at an Olympic tournament is massive motivation for us all."

The 45-year-old speaks from experience; he was part of the only ever German team to qualifying for the tournament, coming fourth in Turin in 2006.

At this year's world championships, Germany are in Group A among the eight best teams. The youngest member of the team is 22, the oldest 56. They're up against Norway, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden and Japan, all aiming to qualify for Beijing.

"I want to experience a third Olympic Games," says Sweden's Christian Hedberg. "The Olympics are the best thing in the world."

Hedberg already competed in Sochi in 2014 and 2018 in Pyeongchang. For Italy's Gian-Luca Cavalliere, Beijing would be an Olympic debut — and his team are the favorites.

A new life through sport

Sled hockey players are disabled from the waist down and cannot stand or walk without crutches or prosthetic limbs. Most have suffered injuries in accidents, while some have suffered varying degrees of paralysis since birth. But, whatever their personal stories, sport has helped them rebuild their lives.

Sweden's Hedberg has been in a wheelchair since a paragliding accident. Germany's Disveld was in a car accident in 1997 which left him partially paralyzed from the waist down. In his younger days, he was a promising swimmer.

"But I wasn't as ambitious as I am now," he admits. "Sled hockey gives me the chance to get out of my wheelchair and move differently."

Disveld started playing sled hockey in the early 2000s and made the national team in 2005. He trains regularly in addition to his job at a Bremen shipping company, as observers can tell by his muscular upper body.

"The sport tapped into my ambition," he smiles. "I want to achieve something."

Women's para ice hockey

Sled hockey may still be a minor sport, but the last few years have seen growth in more and more countries, including some where one may least expect it.

Australia, for example, is a member of the global governing body WPI (World Para Ice Hockey) and plays a leading role in furthering the sport, organizing so-called development camps for potential young players.

The next step is to encourage more women to take to the ice. There are currently no female teams in Europe, where Norway's Lena Schröder is the only active player at the top level.

She plays in the men's team, also competing in Berlin and aiming for Paralympic qualification.