Hockey clinic for the visually impaired set to take place on McArthur Island on Tuesday

Free blind hockey clinic

Photo: KTW file photo

McArthur Island Sports Centre will host a hokcey and skating clinic for the blind on Tuesday.

Kamloops residents will get to try their hand at playing blind hockey for the first time this Tuesday.

The national registered charity, Canadian Blind Hockey, will host its first-ever Try Skating and Blind Hockey event Feb. 17 at the McArthur Island Sports Centre.

The Kamloops Try Skating and Blind Hockey event is being held in partnership with the Kamloops Storm, is free to attend and open to everyone in the city who is blind or partially sighted who wants to try the para sport.

The program will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Olympic-sized ice rink at the sports centre located at 1665 Island Pkwy.

Last year, the charity announced a partnership with the Vancouver Canucks through the Canucks for Kids Fund.

As part of the partnership the Lower Mainland youth program has been officially re-branded the Vancouver Jr. Canucks Blind Hockey Team while the new all-ages program in the capital will be named the Victoria Canucks Blind Hockey Team.

“Blind hockey is growing at an incredible pace across British Columbia, and our partnership with the Canucks continues to elevate awareness provincially, so we’re grateful to be able to visit other communities like Kamloops,” Matt Morrow, executive director of Canadian Blind Hockey, said in a press release.

“We’re especially excited to host our first ever Try Blind Hockey event in Kamloops, and to work with the Kamloops Storm to help us reach even deeper into the community and ensure a welcoming experience for all participants.”

Canadian Blind Hockey has hosted more than 300 Try Skating and Blind Hockey events, and is celebrating 15 years of programs across Canada.

Canadian Blind Hockey aims to change the lives of children, youth and adults who are blind or partially sighted through local, regional, and national Blind Hockey programs, camps, and tournaments.

Those programs are made possible thanks to the CNIB Foundation as well as donors and sponsors across Canada.