Winners announced in Hockey for All competition

Hockey for All open competition results are in. The winners will receive funding for their projects to promote hockey for children and teenagers with disabilities. The competition is organized by Children’s Sledge Hockey League with support from the Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko.

The Hockey for All competition was a nationwide event in the Russian Federation. Entries were solicited in two categories: Promotion Impetus (creation of new teams) and Integration Impetus (support for existing teams and promotion of interstate cooperation).

In all, this year’s competition had 27 entries, of which 12 were for the creation of new teams and 15 for assistance to existing ones. Winners were identified by an Expert Panel, which incorporated experts in philanthropy, children’s sports and disabled hockey. The experts evaluated the entries in two stages: a remote review and an Expert Panel meeting 2 March 2020.

In the Promotion Impetus category, the Hockey for All open competition was won by:

1. Kvartal Lui [Louis’s Quarter] independent not-for-profit organization for the facilitation of personal growth, city of Penza, The Hockey Team of Kvartal Luis INO project.
2. Vozrozhdeniye Cheloveka [Rebirth] Omsk City NGO of Disabled People, city of Omsk, project: Let’s give a green light to sledge hockey in Omsk.
3. Eto Chudo [This is a Miracle] Charitable Foundation, city of Kirov, project: Sledgeland on the Vyatka.
4. Sodeystviye v Pomoshchi Detskim Domam S mirom i Lyubovyu Charitable Foundation [With Peace and Love Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children’s Homes], city of Yekaterinburg, project: Uralets hits the ice.
5. Centre for the Promotion of Adaptive Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan Independent Not-for-Profit Organization, city of Kazan, project: Ak Bars Sledge children’s sledge hockey team.
6. Energiya Zhizni [Life Force] Centre for Adaptive Physical Education, Sports and Tourism Independent Not-for-Profit Organization, city of Sochi, project: Sledge Hockey: Hockey on an Equal Footing.

Winners in the Integration Impetus category:

1. Centre for the Promotion of Adaptive Sports Independent Not-for-Profit Organization, city of Novosibirsk, project: Score! Score!
2. Hockey Federation of the City of Nizhny Novgorod NGO, city of Nizhny Novgorod, project: Nizhny Novgorod Cup.
3. Yastreby [Hawks] Sledge Hockey Club Orenburg Regional Non-Governmental Fitness and Sports Organization of Disabled People, city of Orenburg, project:  Sledge hockey: the sport of courage and strength.
4. St Petersburg Sledge Hockey Sports Club St Petersburg Regional NGO, city of St Petersburg, project: Neva Friendship Bridge.
5. Krylia [Wings] Ice Sports Centre Independent Not-for-Profit Organization, city of Saratov, project: Hockey for All.
6. Amaliel Centre for the Promotion of Social and Sporting Activities stand-alone non-profit organization, Leningrad Oblast, project: The Energy of Sledge Hockey.

Sergey Vitalyevich Altukhov, member of the competition’s Expert Panel and deputy head of the Sports Management Centre of the Lomonosov MSU: “It is very gratifying to see new sledge hockey cities appear on the national map such as Penza, Kazan, Kirov, Chelyabinsk, Omsk and Sochi. We also see sledge hockey tournaments extending their reach, even beyond the Urals. This is also cause for optimism. We thank our colleagues for their productive effort and rapport. Objectivity and impartiality are our watchwords. Let there be good!”

Igor Baradachev, head of the Sports programme at the Timchenko Foundation: “Sledge hockey is gaining popularity in Russia, and every year sees more and more people wishing to promote the sport in their area. This year has seen a surge in both the number of competition entries and their level. This is great! Many entrants, including those who all but won, have a lot of potential. May they develop and improve their ideas, and I invite them to take part next year. May the winners succeed in implementing their projects!”

We congratulate the winners of the competition!