VARIETY – THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY AND VOLT HOCKEY CANADA HEAD TO SWEDEN TO TAKE ON THE BIG LEAGUES IN THEIR FIRST EVER VOLT HOCKEY WORLD CUP

TORONTO, Ont. – This September, 14 athletes from Ontario and Alberta will be hopping on planes with their families and heading to Gavle, Sweden to compete for the first time in the 2022 VOLT Hockey World Cup.

For over 70 years, the Variety Village building in Scarborough has been standing strong. Home to Variety – the Children’s Charity of Ontario; for many, this local institution is a second home, with their ‘variety’ of accessible and subsidized programs. One specific program which holds a place in members’ hearts is VOLT hockey.

VOLT hockey is an accessible form of hockey played in electric hockey chairs, it was first launched in Canada in 2016. This form of accessible sport is unique because it allows children and youth with limited lower body mobility to enjoy the sport without the help of a guide or assistant. Fast forward to the present day, Variety Alberta and Variety Ontario are now deep into training as they prepare to compete internationally. Audrey Bouman, Sport Marketing & Development Manager, commented on the excitement surrounding this opportunity.

“We are incredibly proud of our VOLT hockey athletes and the progress the sport has made here in Canada,” Bouman said. “Launching VOLT hockey in Canada has been a challenging but tremendously rewarding process. For many of these families, this is the first time playing sports has presented them with this type of opportunity, we are all very excited to cheer them on.”

Team Canada will head to Sweden on September 14th, where they will spend five days in the city of Gavle. The first two days will consist of training, and then they will compete in the tournament from the 16th to the 19^th of September. It is the first time that the World Cup Committee in Sweden has extended the opportunity to invite North American teams to participate in the tournament. Christer Ringh, initiator of the world cup arrangement, shared his feelings on how much the tournament has grown.

“We are incredibly proud and happy to finally have the chance to organize the first edition of the World Cup Volt Hockey. It will be a great meeting place with participating teams from as many as six nations—something unique in the world and something that has never happened before. Being able to welcome teams from Canada and the USA feels particularly inspiring. In addition to giving the athletes a great sports experience, we also hope to create a meeting place that drives sports development forward.”

There are currently four locations in Ontario offering the program, plus three in Alberta; the newest location set to launch in autumn 2022 in Manitoba. Karen Stintz, Variety Ontario and Variety Village CEO, shared some insight into what it takes to launch a new VOLT location.

“What makes VOLT so fantastic is its accessibility and how it opens the sport to a larger demographic. The only downside to the sport is the high cost associated with launching a new location. Each VOLT chair is upwards of $5,000 per chair.’ Stintz commented. “We will continue to work towards launching new locations and establishing a VOLT hockey league across Canada; getting as many Canadians as possible into the game.”

Variety Ontario hopes this will be the first of many trips to Sweden for these ambitious players. For those looking to learn more about the VOLT Hockey world cup or the sport of VOLT, head to https://varietyontario.ca/volt-hockey-canada/ or contact:

Audrey Bouman
Manager, Sport Marketing & Development
Variety- the Children’s Charity of Ontario.
abouman@varietyontario.ca

Variety Ontario’s Representatives for Team Canada at the VOLT Hockey World Cup

Players
Jacob McArthur #34
Jackson Deschenes #0
Alexander Morrison #16
Cameron Purdy #27
Bhavjeet Sandhu #1
Liam Marriage #24
Zach Rayment #6
Will Boyce #24

Coach
Alex McLean
Jackson Parisiene

Congratulations team! We are proud of you, and cannot wait to cheer you on in the VOLT Hockey World Cup.