Volt hockey program seeks donations to help kids take part in sports

A local charity that offers a free accessible alternative to hockey for children across Alberta is looking for help.

The Volt hockey program is offered in Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray through Variety Alberta, a non-profit children's charity organization that helps kids with disabilities be active.

Variety Alberta is appealing to the public for donations to keep the program going and to help Team Alberta travel to Sweden for the Volt World Cup in September.

Volt hockey is played in specialized powered wheelchairs on a hard surface such as a gymnasium floor or concrete surface. Jacey Gamroth, the head coach for Variety Alberta's team, says the three-on-three Volt is a good fit for athletes with upper-body mobility impairment as they use a joystick on the wheelchair to move themselves and the ball.

"It takes a lot of skill to be able to operate that chair because you're not only operating the chair, you're also operating the blade with the joystick, so you really have to be paying attention to a lot of things at once," Gamroth told CTV News Edmonton.

"These chairs are very touchy, and they go quite fast, too – they go up to 16 kilometres an hour. They accelerate very quickly, too, and are very sensitive ... It takes a lot of skill. It's a lot of hard work for these athletes."

Parent James Radchenko says he is glad the kids have such an outlet.

"I think everybody knows how crucial organized sports can be for kids, to be part of a team and things that children learn growing up being part of organized sports, so it's really nice that there's something that they can do, too, with what they're capable of being able to do, and play," Radchenko said.

"The entire organization, how inclusive they make it for the kids, it's just really great. You can really see the kids blossom when they're playing together."