In the Autumn of 2020, the Children’s Sledge Hockey League with support from the Festival’s key sponsors, the Fonbet company and the Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko, set up a competition for the states of the Russian Federation to host the annual hockey tournament for children and teenagers with disabilities, called Hockey Family Fest, in 2021. The competition named a winner – Nizhny Novgorod.
The Hockey Family Fest Festival will take place between 26 April and 1 May in one of the most scenic areas of the Nizhny-Novgorod Oblast, at a sports facility called The Sea of Sports. The site’s sports infrastructure has disabled facilities and boasts two ice arenas, which will see sports battles rage over four days. Given the pandemic restrictions, the facility will be closed to the public for the duration of the Festival, but live broadcasts of the matches and events will be available to all supporters on the League’s YouTube channel.
Artyom Yefremov, sports minister, Nizhny-Novgorod Oblast
“The promotion of adaptive fitness and sports is one of our areas of focus I am happy that it is Nizhny Novgorod Oblast that will host such a major sports event — the Hockey Family Fest disabled hockey festival. It is particularly gratifying that the event will take place on the eve of the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod and will provide a launching pad for the main festivities, as well as giving all guests an opportunity to get to know our city a little better. I am confident that the festival contestants will demonstrate their indomitable will to win and fortitude in the sports battles”.
This year, the title of the best in adaptive hockey will be contested by as many as 30 teams from 25 Russian states. About 1000 contestants will join the competitions from Nizhny Novgorod. For the first time, sledge hockey will be joined by new disciplines – junior blind hockey and junior parahockey for mentally retarded children. It is these two disciplines that have seen explosive growth over the last year at the Children’s Sledge Hockey League.
Igor Baradachev, head of the Sports programme of the Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko:
“The festival has long emerged as a family event on a federal level: it is joined not only by daring players but also by their parents, who are every bit as special. Also, the Festival keeps evolving and surprising us with the number and quality of its innovations: this year, apart from the competitions as such and an extensive entertainment programme, which is a now feature, the Festival will run a children’s press centre. Young journalists from all over Russia will provide running commentaries on the matches and live broadcasts under the gentle guidance of mentors from the federal media”.
