What's Happening in Special Hockey
08-10-2025
Hi all Registration for the 2026 SHI Tournament is still OPEN! Following the huge success of two consecutive SHI tournaments in 2024 and 2025 hosted by The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts Special Hockey in Boston, the Grandravine Tornadoes will once again be hosting the 2026 Tournament in Toronto from March 5 - 7 2026. For more information and to register for the 2026 SHI Tournament, please click on https://grandravinetornadoes.org/shi-2026/tournament-registration/ National Governing Body (NGB) Membership: Benefits and Importance SHI’s founding vision was to encourage Special Hockey to become established globally. NGB affiliation is key to enabling special hockey teams from around the world to participate in SHI tournaments or other events that are sanctioned by their respective NGBs e.g., USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, Ice Hockey UK etc. NGB membership means that all clubs are operating in accordance with common standards which help to keep our members safe e.g., compliance with rules that protect vulnerable children and adults. NGB travel permits, and insurance enables clubs to host or attend international tournaments which otherwise might be unobtainable, unaffordable, or inadequately insured. JOIN US! SHI membership and tournaments are open to all special hockey clubs provided they are affiliated with their respective NGB. SHI invite all special hockey clubs to join SHI now for the 2025/2026 season to enable participation in SHI Tournaments. Historically, there can be no representation without taxation, but we have established a no-fee option to join SHI as a non-voting associate member – all that is required is that your team, players, and coaches are members of and in good standing with your respective NGB. Here is a link to SHI’s membership application form. If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, please email: specialhockeyinternational@gmail.com Yours in Special Hockey Mike Dwyer President
04-06-2025
Save The Date!! March 5th -7th 2026 Hosted by Grandravine Special Hockey Toronto, Ontario Canada Registration is open on May 1, 2025 and Closes on December 23, 2025. Full tournament details are on the special website, SHI 2026 To register you must be members of Special Hockey International and of your National Governing Body (USA Hockey, Hockey Canada and/or IIHF) If you are interested in becoming a member of Special Hockey International, please contact Joe Rizzuto at speciahockeyinternational@gmail.com It’s all about good hockey, fun and meeting up with old friends and making new ones. Teams will be playing a total of 4 games. Games will be scheduled either at Scotiabank Pond Arena in Downsview Park and/or at Chesswood Arena. A closing banquet and ceremonies will take place on Saturday, March 7, 2026 Pearson Convention Center. Each organization can enter as many teams as they wish. Registration fee is $1,000. Canadian per team. Payment options: credit card, PayPal, cheque or money order in Canadian Funds made out to Grandravine Special Hockey. For more information or to make any changes after you register please contact: Joe Rizzuto at jsrizzuto@rogers.com
17-08-2024
The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts have officially opened registration for the most important special hockey tournament in the world - SHI Boston 2025 - the showcase annual event for Special Hockey International! April 24-26, 2025 at the prestigious Lovell Arena in Rockland, MA. For more information and to register, see www.shiboston2025.org or contact info@shiboston2025.org. Our friends from the Baltimore Saints were the first to register their two teams this morning and the entire Great Blizz team is excited to spend another weekend with our buds from Charm City! Last year, The Great Blizz hosted 500 special hockey players and 125 of their coaches. Plus all their families and friends. And we could not have done it without support from our organizing committee, parents/guardians from all the teams, generous sponsors, Lovell Arena and its Lovell Academy staff and students, and more. See you in EIGHT months!
16-07-2024
SHI are delighted to announce that The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts Special Hockey Inc will be hosting the Special Hockey tournament at the fabulous Lovelll Arena April 24-26 2025. Special Hockey International (SHI) and The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts Special Hockey are excited to announce today that the SHI annual tournament will return to Lovell Arena for SHI Boston 2025 on April 24-26, 2025. Registration will open by August 1st when the tournament website www.shiboston2025.org goes live. This highly-acclaimed three-day, four-game international tournament for players with special needs will take place in Rockland, MA, some 20 miles south of the hockey-rich city of Boston. This year’s event attracted nearly 500 athletes and 125 coaches from around the world, from the United Kingdom to Canada to across the United States, bringing SHI to life for the first time since 2019 due to COVID. The first SHI tournament took place in 1994. "Tournament Director Steve Nearman and his committee revived the SHI Tournament in 2024 with great success and all the trimmings - exciting Opening Ceremonies, music and games in the arena, and more!” said Lorraine Whaley, President of the HADC Gladiators Hockey Club from Toronto. “Impressively well organized, informed and fun volunteers, and more! Steve went above and beyond for our Gladiators and families to be there, and everyone had the best time! Kudos to you all for 2024 - and for doing it again in 2025! The HADC Gladiators will be there!” Like this year, the tournament will kick off with the awe-inspiring Olympic-style Opening Ceremonies and will include a world-class tournament dinner planned by the rink chef exclusively for SHI Boston 2025. “The fact that most of the teams who came to SHI Boston 2024 already verbally committed to returning next year before the tournament even ended speaks for itself,” stated Nearman, The Great Blizz founder and executive director. “On and off the ice, our participants completely enjoyed their time in the Boston area, be it taking in a Boston Red Sox game, visiting historic area attractions as well as checking out our beautiful beaches of Cape Cod.” “Without the financial commitments of Keurig Dr Pepper, Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, Monogram Food Solutions, Riverview School, Jersey Mike’s, Irving, Compass USA, Recycleworks, Green Rabbit and others, SHI Boston 2024 would not have been such a success,” Nearman continued. “And the support of the Boston Bruins Alumni and the Boston Bruins Foundation
12-09-2023
We are delighted to announce that registration for the next SHI Tournament is now OPEN! Get ready for a fun-packed International Special Ice Hockey event! From April 25 – April 27 , this exciting tournament will be held in the historic city of Boston, bringing together sixty teams from around the globe. This year the tournament will showcase the new Lovell Arena, a state-of-the-art facility located just 20 miles south of Boston in Rockland MA. Additionally, games will be played at the Mark Bavis Arena adding even more excitement to the tournament! Mark Bavis Arena is also located in Rockland, 1 1/2 miles from Lovell. Convenience! Hosted by The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts, an inclusive ice hockey club based on the South Shore and Cape Cod, each team will play four games between 25th – 27th April. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to info@shiboston2024.org To register for the 2024 tournament, please click here.