MIRAMICHI, NB – Canada’s National Sledge Team hits the ice for the first time as a group this week as the team’s training camp kicks off in Miramichi, NB on Thursday, October 2. The camp, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, will also travel to Moncton, NB.

The national team, which was chosen following a four-day selection camp in Milton, ON in early September, will train twice on Thursday and once on Friday at the Miramichi Civic Centre before moving to the 4 Ice Centre in Moncton for a pair of ice sessions on Saturday.

NATIONAL SLEDGE TEAM TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE
(all times listed are Atlantic Time)

Thursday, October 2 |  9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Miramichi Civic Centre
Thursday, October 2 | 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Miramichi Civic Centre
Friday, October 3 | 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Miramichi Civic Centre
Saturday, October 4 | 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. | 4 Ice Centre (Moncton, NB)
Saturday, October 4 | 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. | 4 Ice Centre (Moncton, NB)

In addition to its practice on Friday morning, Canada’s National Sledge Team will be taking part in an on-ice demonstration on Friday night with members of the Miramichi Timberwolves, the local Junior A team that plays in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The two teams will take part in a skills competition, followed by an exhibition sledge hockey game with members of Canada’s national team and the Timberwolves taking part. The demonstration will begin at 7 p.m. at the Miramichi Civic Centre.

All practices are open to the public, free of charge. There will be a $5 admission fee to Friday night’s demonstration, with proceeds going to Barry Amos, a local resident who recently became a quadraplegic as a result of a diving accident.

On Saturday night, Canada’s National Sledge Team will gather to watch the premiere of Sledhead: The Story About Canada’s Sledge Hockey Team. Documentary filmmakers traveled with the national team for much of the 2007-08 season, including Canada’s gold medal victory at the 2008 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship, and Sledhead tells the story of the team, and its players.

Sledhead: The Story About Canada’s Sledge Hockey Team, premieres on Saturday, October 4 at 7 p.m. EDT on CTV.

Following the training camp, Canada’s National Sledge Team will participate in the 2008 World Sledge Hockey Challenge, to be held from November 18-22 in Charlottetown, PE. Canada is the defending gold medalist at the event, having won gold at the inaugural event in Kelowna, BC in 2007.

The 2008-09 season also includes tournaments in Japan in January and Vancouver in February ahead of the 2009 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship, which will take place in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic from May 5-16, 2009.

NOTE: Adam Crockatt, Hockey Canada’s manager of men’s national teams, is with the team in New Brunswick and will be the media contact for the duration of the training camp. He can be reached at (403) 874-2023.