Perfect partners

WASILLA — What has four wheels, two hockey sticks and all the moral support imaginable?

A goalie at the Special Olympics Alaska School Program High School Floor Hockey Challenge who took position between the pipes in the first game.

The event at the AT&T Sports Center saw more than 100 students from seven high schools competing on the hardwood. Eight-inch felt pucks with the center cut out were pushed around with three-foot rubber-tipped poles and shot into half-size hockey nets.

Players on the attack used different methods of passing and shooting. Some went behind-the-back, some pushed straight on and others tried to flip the puck past the goalie. Defenders tried to kick the pucks away or simply run over their opponents’ sticks.

However, whenever someone fell down, regardless of team, a helping hand was never far away.

Camaraderie was more on display than competition, as the players were all members of their respective schools’ Partners Club.

“Partners Clubs are school-based programs for students with and without special needs to participate in school, community and sport activities during the school day,” said Sarah Arts, Special Olympics Alaska school program manager. “They focus on inclusion and building relationships with sport.”

Special Olympics Alaska hosts the major events, like Friday’s floor hockey, periodically for the Partners Clubs. It provides all the funding for the events through grants, meaning there is no cost to the schools or students, Arts said.

But, in between the major events, the Partners Clubs put on smaller activities paid for through fund-raisers. The clubs also hold practices to prepare for larger events.

Andrea Gibson, a senior at Palmer High School and four-year member of the Partners Club, said floor hockey is her favorite sport. The club has been practicing once a week, and her favorite part is trying to get the puck away from other players.

Even those with physical disabilities get into the mix. The goalie from one of the schools’ six-player teams was sitting in a wheelchair with hockey sticks attached to either side.

“It’s important that the athletes and the partners participate together to increase awareness of students with intellectual disabilities,” Arts said. “It promotes inclusion and equality in students among the schools.”

In addition to Palmer, the Partners Clubs from Wasilla, Colony, Bartlett, East, West and Service high schools competed in Friday’s event. The morning games were school vs. school, with an all-star game between the Anchorage and Mat-Su Schools. A tournament is in the works for next year.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.