A once flourishing sport in Swift Current is hoping to ascend again with COVID-19 restrictions now out of the way.

The Swift Current IceBreakers were only a week away from attending the Western Canadian Championships when the pandemic hit - hauling action for the club that had 37 members.

(Photo courtesy of Jenn Speir)

Two years later, as Saskatchewan begins to emerge from mandates, the club has seven members and only three returnees.

"We went into this season not really sure what our numbers were going to be and not really sure who was going to be back," IceBreakers assistant coach Darwin Gooding said. "We had some kids age out and graduate from the program, we had some other kids decided they wanted to try some other things."

The local program offers anyone under 16 years of age either able-bodied or disabled a different perspective on hockey.

"It's giving kids that have varying degrees of disability an opportunity to participate and giving them an option to have a little bit in common with their schoolmate that they can both talk about hockey and what it means to them," he said. "At the end of the day, it still is hockey, the games a little bit different but hockey is hockey, you're still trying to put the puck in the net."

Swift Current's program burst onto the scene in 2017 and tripled in participation by 2020, so rebuilding the involvement is within reach. One thing that may help aid the group's numbers is the Beijing 2022 Paralympics currently ongoing.

"When you see it at an international level and see just how good these players are and how fast and physical the game is, it's quite entertaining to watch," he said. "It's something for our kids as well to get an opportunity, it's not like they can turn on the TV every day and see athletes doing what they're doing."

Swift Current wearing Regina jerseys at a tournament in January (Photo courtesy of Jenn Speir)

The IceBreakers teamed up with a Regina-based group to partake in one tournament this year but the remaining time has been spent honing their skills in practice with plenty of help from the U18 AAA Wildcats.

"We've had a lot of their players coming out to all our practices this year and with our numbers as low as they were it really helped keep the kids engaged," he said. "It was a good experience for them as well to hop in the sled and try it out. I really appreciate them coming out throughout the season."

Anyone interested in either participating with the IceBreakers or wanting to learn more about the sport locally will have a chance in the next couple of weeks to do so. The team is scheduled to practice Monday nights at 5:15 p.m. at the Fairview West Arena.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Schwartz