The accessibility features of the recently-opened Pason Gold Arena open up new realms of possibility for all hockey players in town.

The arena will be well-used by local minor hockey teams, but it was also designed with sledge hockey players in mind.

Retired Okotoks sledge hockey player Chris Cederstrand says that, for a town the size of Okotoks, there are a surprising number of sledge hockey players here.

He points out that the dressing rooms, the entrance to the ice surface and the bench areas were planned out to accommodate sledge hockey teams.

"I was speechless when I saw the facility here," Cederstrand says, "and everything that they've done to make it accessible and make it possible for everybody to get out on the ice."

Glass on the lower portion of the boards along the bench area and penalty boxes will allow sledge hockey players a clear view of the game. The players' entrance is level with the ice and the benches can be removed and the flooring covered with puck board to enable ease of movement for players and their sledges.

"Here, they're able to pop (the benches) out in absolutely no time and get everything set up," he explains. "In most of the rinks that I've seen, it's an hour or two-hour transition period and here, it looks like they could transition in just over the course of a flood which makes life remarkably easier for a sledge hockey team to come in here and play games."

Although he's been retired from the sport since last summer due to a shoulder injury, Cederstrand's sledge hockey career included being named to the Canadian Men's National Team that won a silver medal at the World Sledge Hockey Championships in 2015.

Based on his experience with the sport, he says he was able to provide some input on the design of the new arena, in terms of features to improve accessibility for sledge hockey players.

"I had put forth a few of the issues that I've seen at other arenas and it's something that they seem to have solved here," Cederstrand says. "A sledge rink is a pretty standard sort of thing, but they've eliminated a lot of the big hindrances that I've seen at other arenas. This is by far the best sledge arena set up that I've come across."

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