Disability Sports Spectacular

Posted on 3 July 2012

The Devils Community Foundation continues to make its way around the City raising awareness of ice Hockey and the upcoming Cardiff Devils season. This past week the DCF has been at the Disability Sports Wales Sports Spectacular at the National Indoor Athletics Centre on the Cyncoed Campus of Cardiff Metropolitan University formerly known as UWIC.  

Current DCF Coach of the U10’s age Ben Shahab and DCF Manager Hollie Parsons helped Cardiff Devils’ Director of Community & Player Development Brent Pope engage with their South Wales community through the power of sport. Current London 2012 athletes such as Nathan Stephens, who will compete for Team GB at the Paralympics in the discus competition, also showed his sporting class on the DCF shooting cage inflatable.

Brent Pope commented, “Sometimes when operating the inflatable you have to adjust its operation in order to suit the participant, but not in Nathan’s case. He is a world class Paralympian who also competed for Team GB as a sledge hockey player at Torino 2006 in Italy.”

Wales is world renown for its ability to develop International class athletes through all disability sports and Sledge Hockey specifically has a rich tradition of producing talent in Cardiff. Pope continued, “We as the DCF have a responsibility to continue to strengthen our grassroots development model as we move towards a new arena. Incorporating Sledge Hockey within our DCF operational structure is important to us and having Sledge Hockey as a sport in Cardiff carrying our Devils’ branding will be a win win for both of us.”