A Special Hockey Team for Special Kids- Capital City Condors!

Overview:

Now in our 3rd season and with 40 players and a waiting list, the Capital City Condors is an ice hockey team for youth from across the Ottawa Valley and Gatineau who are ineligible to play on any other hockey team due to an intellectual and/or physical disability. Players are ages 6 and up, of all ability levels and are each given a high degree of personal supervision by dedicated on-ice coaches. Some players receive one-on-one attention throughout each session, others focus on passing and playing as a team. Each practice includes on-ice warm-ups and drills, followed by an inter-squad game. Fun, skill development, sportsmanship and teamwork are highly emphasized. Youth of ALL hockey abilities are welcome - the ability to skate at the beginning of the season is not a requirement for registration.

The program is an extremely rewarding experience for the players, parents and volunteers! It is incredible to be a part of enabling children who only dream of playing on a hockey team finally see their dreams come true and their abilities progress. For the first time, the sibling they've watched play hockey or other sports, watches them!

The Condors look forward to particpating in the 2011 Special Hockey International Tournament in Malboro, Mass and hopefully, in 2012 the tournament in London, England! Last season, the Condors traveled to Orangeville, ON to participate in their first Special Hockey International Friendship tournament and had an incredible weekend of playing hockey against teams from Canada, the U.S. and even from England! These tournaments, the travel, the accomodations, and the meals are costly, especially for families who are already facing the extra expenses that come along with having a child with special needs. The Condors work hard to keep our registration fees as low as possible (less than half of the fees for other hockey teams!), and as such, rely heavily on the generosity of our local community and on our fundraising efforts.

Money from the AVIVA COMMUNITY fund would help the Condors continue to offer low registration fees, ensure that our ice time is paid for, and go a long way towards supplementing the cost of the tournaments this year and next!

Thank-you for taking the time to read about this AMAZING team of hockey players. Please check out our website (www.capitalcitycondors.org) for more info! If you know of someone who would like to play on a Special Hockey International team, please see their website to find a club near you! (www.specialhockeyinternational.org)

GO CONDORS GO!!!