On May 2, Team Canada won the 2010 International Standing Ice Hockey Federation (ISIHF) World Championships held in Montreal, Canada, with an 11-2 victory over Finland in the gold medal game. Team USA defeated Latvia for the bronze medal. The tournament took place April 27-May 2, and was hosted by the Canadian Amputee Hockey Committee and the Defi Sportif at Aréna Saint-Michel.
For the first time, the tournament included an ISIHF World Team, which consisted of players from countries that could not send a full team or do not have a standing amputee hockey team yet. The World Championships were observed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) delegate, Sacha Vaillancourt, manager of the Hockey Canada – Quebec regional center.
After the World Team vs. Finland game. Photograph courtesy of Mark Pitkin, ISIHF president.
“The organizing committee of the championship did an exceptional job in organizing the event and making sure that the participating teams felt welcomed and received impeccable service,” said Vaillancourt. “It was a pleasure to witness the work of excellent players defend the respective colors of their countries.”
In March, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board (GB) granted the status of IPC Recognized International Federation to ISIHF. The move followed the IPC GB’s March 2009 decision to approve a policy for granting the status in order to formally associate with international federations that are not members of the IPC but have developed sports for athletes with a disability.
