From Boise State Hockey
By Jeff Riechmann
SPECIAL NEEDS SKATING EVENT HELD IN McCALL
This past Saturday morning, the silence of the ice rink at the Manchester Ice and Events Center in McCall was shattered by the sounds of laughter and shrieks of enjoyment as seventeen people with special needs took to the ice. All of the skaters were joined by members of the Boise State University men’s ice hockey club. The ages of the skaters ranged from ten years old to forty-nine years old and some of the skaters traveled from as far away as Twin Falls just for the opportunity to ice skate in an all-inclusive environment and to skate with the Boise State players.
This was the fifth annual event which is currently held in conjunction with Boise State’s annual series of games held in McCall during the Winter Carnival. In addition to Boise State, other teams to participate in the free ice-skating opportunity for the kids in the past include the Idaho IceCats junior hockey team and the University of Southern California men’s ice hockey club, which joined Boise State last year.
As a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the players are required to participate in community service events. The coaching staff pointed out that the IceClimbers event is the favorite event for Boise State players and they look forward to the opportunity every year. One player even commented how skating with the younger participants with special needs had “hit him right in the heart!”
The opportunity was coordinated by McCall-based Courageous Kids Climbing. As one of their programs that provide a variety of opportunities for people with special needs, the organization conducts the ice-skating opportunities annually in McCall and recently added Lewiston, Idaho to their calendar. The organization supports the events with a collection of ice-skate trainers and lifting devices that allows them to share the ice-skating experience with anyone, regardless of challenges.
The event was sponsored by Krahn’s Home Furnishings and The McCall Jewelry Store.
The event was once again supported by the Boise State Hockey Boosters, who gave a Boise State Hockey T-shirt to each of the participants. The participants then had all of the Boise State players autograph the T-shirts. Several kids were observed at Saturday evenings hockey game wearing the shirts while cheering on their favorite Boise State players!
Members of the McCall Police Department, Valley County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police also supported the event. Law enforcement officers took the opportunity to speak with each of the participants to help the participants to overcome their fear of people in uniform. In return, the officers enhanced their knowledge of how to interact with people with special needs. The officers even took the time to speak with a foreign exchange student from Italy about the differences in law enforcement between our two countries. The student was attending the event with to watch the kids from her sponsor’s family skate.
DANCING WITH JAYDEN
On Friday evening, one of the IceClimber participants was in attendance at the Boise State – Oregon hockey game, sixteen-year-old Jayden Azzopardi of McCall was invited to go for a ride on the Zamboni during the first intermission. As luck would have it, Jayden’s favorite song was playing on the public address system. Unable to contain his love for the song, while seat belted on the Zamboni, Jayden wowed the crowd by demonstrating all of the dance moves for the song with the crowd!
Jayden faces the challenges associated with Downs Syndrome. At first, he was a little apprehensive about riding on the Zamboni, but the driver of the Zamboni, Dayna Kunkel offered some words of encouragement. Jayden’s father was very appreciative of this opportunity for his son, stating that it was a “monumental opportunity for Jayden!”
Jayden was such a hit that John Barth of the Manchester Ice and Events Center invited Jayden and his family back for Saturday night’s game! Jayden, wearing his Boise State hockey T-shirt, once again went for a ride on the Zamboni and had the capacity crowd dancing in the aisles with him!
And who was encouraging him to dance? His new best friends from the Boise State ice hockey club!
