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The 2007 World Sledge Hockey Challenge - the first major sledge hockey event hosted in Canada - served as a preparation for the 2010 Paralympics and received $10,000 from Hosting BC. More than 7,500 spectators at the Capital News Centre watched 112 athletes, aged 18-48, compete. Athletes came from Canada and the U.S., Germany and Norway. More than 70 volunteers supported the event.
The event introduced athletes with a disability and the community to the sport; local minor hockey teams hosted sledge events. Economic benefit included visitor spending during an otherwise slow period and international profile for the area. An arena at the centre was retrofitted to accommodate sledge hockey athletes and the improved facility is one of the event's community legacies. Prior to the event, there were no facilities in Western Canada that could hold such an event. All revenues were given to the local sledge hockey community for purchase of equipment. There was a dramatic increase in program registration for sledge hockey following the Challenge.
