The 3rd annual Inclusion on Ice free public skating event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at Wheeling Park Ice Rink and White Palace.
Augusta Levy Learning Center, Easterseals Rehabilitation Center and the Wheeling Nailers host the event with the help of community partners including Wheeling Park and the J.B. Chambers Memorial Foundation.
The event is an opportunity for people of all ages with and without disabilities to be on the ice together. Additional activities inside the White Palace will include a new community resource fair, a sensory room, photo booth and face painting.
“Everyone is welcome, and thanks to our generous sponsors, everything is free for participants,” Betsy Bethel-McFarland, Easterseals marketing director, said.
An event highlight is the sled hockey match between members of the Wheeling Nailers and Wheeling Lightningbirds versus members of the Mighty Penguins sled hockey organization from Pittsburgh.
Sled hockey is an adaptive sport in which players sit on a single-bladed sled and use short sticks to propel across the ice and shoot the puck. Following the game, fans are invited to a Q&A with the players.
“Inclusion on Ice is one of the biggest community events that the Nailers participate in each year. We are extremely proud of how much the event has grown since it started, and our players are eager to welcome everyone onto the ice with them on Feb. 11,” Nailers spokesman D.J. Abisalih said.
“ALLC is honored and excited to work alongside the Wheeling Nailers and
Easterseals Rehabilitation Center to offer a free event to bring the community together and celebrate inclusion,” Angie Wood, Augusta Levy executive director, said. “This is our 3rd anniversary of working together organizing Inclusion in Ice, and each year we see more families participating, which is wonderful.”
Hockey fan, disabilities advocate and author David George of Wheeling came up with the idea a few years ago and serves on the event committee. As someone who lives with a disability, his goal is to promote inclusion and awareness in the community because everyone needs “to feel individually known, understood, appreciated and loved,” he said.
Sponsors, volunteers, and resource fair vendors still are needed. For more information, see the Inclusion on Ice event page on Facebook or call Easterseals, 304-242-1390, or Augusta Levy Learning Center, 304-242-6722.
