Put on your warm weather gear and come out to support the inaugural UCT Winter Hockey Festival for special hockey athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities. The outdoor event for athletes in the Great Lakes region will take place Feb. 11-12, 2012, at Ottawa Park Ice Rink, 2200 Bancroft at Ottawa Parkway in Toledo. Festival admission is free and games are from 9 a.m.-9p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-noon on Sunday.

According to UCT Community Outreach Manager Tony Szymczak, special hockey is a non-contact sport in which teams are comprised of male and female athletes of all ages and are broken down into skill levels as opposed to age or experience. Teams from Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia are expected to take part in the festival. Each team will play three games throughout the weekend.

UCT, a non-profit membership organization based in Columbus, is a longtime supporter of individuals with intellectual disabilities. A partnership was formed in January 2011 between UCT and the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA), and UCT is helping to promote special hockey nationally and locally. The UCT Winter Hockey Festival is designed to support this effort while providing special athletes with a unique opportunity to play hockey outdoors.

UCT has partnered with Dr. Jane Wheeler’s “Leading For Success” class at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) to present the festival. Students are helping with the event's marketing, promotion and conceptualization and are working with UCT to deliver the festival to the community. BGSU students will also team up with UCT members to volunteer at the event.

Interested in volunteering at the festival or want more details? Contact Tony Szymczak at tszymczak@uct.org or at (800) 848-0123, ext. 207.