Ullizee-Inc

Entry 6 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

Today is the final day of the group phase for my son and his team mates of the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team at the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland.

It is the day of the last game of the group phase which is against Canada. It’s a game that we must win if we want to play two more games in the play-offs instead of just one. If we win, we end 4th in our group, not 5th. The 5th plays only one more game, against the team ending 5th in the other group. The 4th has two more games to compete.

The day starts with a relaxed morning where most players get some physiotherapy. The team watches the game Switzerland-Netherlands (final score: 5-10) via the organization’s livestream.

But then, it is…match time: Canada-Belgium.

Actually, both teams need to win to not end last in the group, as both teams have lost all their previous (3) games. It leads to a game that starts furious and passionate. It is a nervous game, going up and down all the time. Neither team really dominates as is reflected in the mid-game score: 0-0. In the second half however, our team manages to score 3 times, of which 2 goals from a shoot-out penalty. In my view, Canada plays a bit too wildly, which makes them miss their chances.

Final score: 0-3.

Goal achieved! Belgium will play a first play-offs game against the 3rd team of the other group. The result of that game will determine who we will play against in the last game, and for what final rank.

Our son wasn’t allowed a chance to play in this game against Canada, which is–honestly–very, very frustrating. For my son, it is frustrating because he has no idea what is the problem. For me, it is frustrating because I am having to re-energize and motivate him again and again. It might be one of the only cases where combining being a father and his personal assistant isn’t too bad. Of the 4 games so far, which represents a total of 160 minutes of play in total (remember: a game has 2 halves of 20 minutes), he has been on the pitch for about 10 minutes. But both times, I feel he did really, really well. I assumed it would highlight his qualities and that his performance would speak for itself. So, not? We wonder.

I know that not playing is part of the game too. However, what is not part of the game and what (to me) is even not acceptable is that he isn’t given an explanation. At all. This is even actually the worst. Transparent communication might help him accept the situation and come to terms with it. But…the lack of transparency is causing exactly the opposite situation.

On a side note: having worked with people organized in teams for so many years now, I am so saddened by what I see happen in our team, and specifically the (lack of true) leadership towards the players individually and the team as a whole. The analogies with the business world are sadly enormous. What motives people? What binds a team? How to coach and facilitate team growth? How to help surface different opinions and handle them? How to overcome the absence of conflict? It requires essential skills and insights. It’s more universal than many realize. After all, whether it is software development or powerchair hockey: it’s about human beings. That doesn’t make it a simple challenge though. Even on the contrary, it is extremely complex. A funny finding is that I am using examples from my professional life to explain what I see happening in my son’s team to him, while I already know that I will use examples from what I’ve seen happening in my son’s team as analogies in my professional consulting and training activities.

In the end, our assumption (having overheard some conversations) is that he played only to make sure the classifiers have seen him play to get his final classification score, which would allow him to play in the play-offs (Aaaargh, do you smell the potential cynicism?). Remember from entry 3 of my assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee that before the tournament started, each player was assigned a classification score (ranging from 0.5 – 4.5). And that this score is finalized upon observations of the players in their actual games?

Let me build on this topic to add that a classification score of 5.0 means that a person is not eligible to play powerchair hockey. It means that the person is plainly too strong in both arms and upper body. It would make the game unfair. A last learning point: the classifiers are entitled to update a player’s classification until the end of the tournament. I learn all the time.

Do you also remember that I wrote how classifiers can be recognised by their green shirts? Well, outside of the pitch (where they wear black) referees can be recognised by their blue shirts. However, referees are also being observed by people wearing the same blue shirts (carrying a different title on the back though).

I am learning all the time. And I love it.

So, match day 3 concluded the group phase. The conclusion after match day 3? See the conclusion of match day 2, but…amplified by a factor. You can probably sense it in my writing: the growing unbelief and annoyance over inner-team approaches and (non-)communication of which my son’s position is an example.

Tomorrow we are playing the playoffs. Another day, another ray of hope of improvement.

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3 (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 5 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

Another exciting day ahead for my son and his team mates of the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team. Another day to do what they came for as participants of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland: play powerchair hockey.

In the afternoon we will face home team Switzerland. The prospect of an afternoon match makes waking up and some morning rituals a bit more relaxed.

A group of Belgian players and assistants (including my son and I) depart for the world cup arena before lunch already (using the organization’s shuttle service). We want to watch the game Italy-Netherlands live and on-site (rather than watching the livestream in a meeting room of the hotel). From the report about yesterday (Entry 4 of my assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee: “Match day 1”) you will undoubtedly remember how we already played against both teams and how difficult that was. Understatement.

Now, the game between the ruling World Champion (Italy) and the ruling European Champion (the Netherlands) couldn’t have been better.

WHAT . A . GAME

I can’t imagine a better way to promote the sport of powerchair hockey! This game has energy, passion, emotions, incredibly skilled players, strategic moves, intelligent (thus highly irritating) blocking actions, a red card, a yellow card, team interplay, smart substitutions. In the 2×40 minutes there was not one single dull moment. These teams play a different ball game (in a different universe). Final score: 1-8 (in favor of the Netherlands).

New for me is the fact that there are speed controls during the game. Remember from Entry 2 of my assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee (“Checking in and being checked out (part 1)”) that the powerchairs of all players are checked twice before the tournament starts. The goal is to verify that their maximum speed does not exceed 15 km/h. During the game such checks happen too. I am learning all the time. The clock is stopped and a player is asked to drive his machine on the test bank.

By the way, the red card I referred to in the Italy-Netherlands game was the result of such a check. An Italian player did a manipulation of his wheelchair after the check before re-entering the pitch, probably turning off the cooling. This is forbidden. It means that the player turned on the cooling before the check. But the machine checked should be the machine as used in play. A red card means leaving the game and being suspended for the next game. A yellow card means that a player needs to leave the field for 5 minutes.

Other novelties for me, things I’ve never seen happen before, are a few broken floorsticks and–more scary–a few powerchairs turned on their side. If you wonder how it is possible, I do too. Even now that I have seen it actually happen…

Other things I’ve learned is that there is a reason why we have so few female players in Team Belgium (because players are a lot recruited from among people with neuromuscular problems, which are often men) and why there are no players from the Walloon part of Belgium (they focus on Powerchair Soccer which is sponsored by Fifa). Another important limitation to the skill level of the national team is that in Belgium people get granted a powerchair quite late and a sports chair has to be purchased privately (where for instance in certain parts of the Netherlands there is a government intervention possible). 

After lunch we enter the arena where we will face the organizing country Switzerland. Before the game the players drive and play around in order to warm up their bodies but also the engines of their powerchair. Another pre-game activity is a short material check. That is rather minimalist: the sticks are verified and it is checked whether the floorball can freely pass under a chair (which is a requirement).

As the mid-game score shows (7-0) it is indeed not an easy game. Switzerland has been doing very well so far, probably with some additional motivation of playing before their cheering home crowd. Our son enters the pitch to play the last 5-6 minutes, at a score of 10-0.

I am obviously biased and not an expert. Still, I dare say that he did make a difference, even for the short time that he played, even more than he did in the game against the intergalactic team of the Netherlands yesterday. As you can imagine, it is again not what a driven and ambitious player, eager to learn and improve, hopes for. We’ve also still no idea about what goes through the mind of the coach. The uncertainty and non-communication is probably even worse than not playing or playing just a short period.

After the game (final score: 12-0) our team receives compliments from the Swiss coach for our way of playing given the young and unexperienced team that we still are.

Whew!

Match day 2 left us again with a feeling of accomplishment albeit with even more mixed feelings too. More time to play! Tomorrow…

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2 (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 4 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

An exciting day ahead for my son and his team mates of the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team who are participating in the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland.

After a few days of checking in and being checked out (see Entry 2 and Entry 3 of my assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee), today we finally can go to ‘work’. We have two matches to play: against the Netherlands and against Italy. Neither game is going to be an easy task. The Netherlands is generally accepted as the best powerchair hockey country around and they are the ruling European Champion, while Italy is the ruling World Champion. Team Italy won the world title at the world cup in 2018 in front of their home crowd. If that hasn’t been goose bumps, I don’t know what would.

The game against the Netherlands quickly confirms the justness of their (informal) world leader status in my (admitted: unexperienced) eyes. What a team to play against! So fast, so assertive, super hard hitters on the ball, total ball control at the tip of their sticks, finding each other blindly even when moving around all the time, genius blocking actions. I am no expert but even I see how this team is perfecting the game. That finding is hard to be decoupled from my observation that they are by far the most professional team I’ve seen at the event. Fyi. They do their own live, real-time video analysis during the game. This certainly looks like a candidate world champion to me. A Dutch contact however claims that Denmark is of the same level as the Netherlands. I just might be jumping to conclusions too quickly. Which is not really a surprise…

Our team, being a young and newly composed team, works hard, searches and…learns about playing at this level. The hard way. I do wonder if they couldn’t have been better prepared for the sort of play that is played here? Our coach has been at every single world championship after all. Just a thought. I am learning all the time.

In my view, young Maxime Decrock deserves a special word of appreciation and admiration. He was brought into the team during the first half and he did what needed to be done and what he does so greatly: dance around the pitch and sting like a bee!

Our son is only brought into the game 5 minutes before the end at a score of 0-20. Fyi. A game has 2 halves of 20 minutes of playing each, with a break of 10 minutes in between. Still, as a father, I was proud to see him playing his first minutes at an official world championship, even if it was only so short and in a completely lost game. As an observer, I truly believe his presence made a difference. Judging by the fact that he was explicitly targeted for being blocked a few times leaves me with the impression that he did a good job. I am though well aware that this also raises the issue that he should try to avoid ending up in a position of being vulnerable to being blocked. I find myself in a state of being convinced that his good play will not go unnoticed for the coach.

I am continuously looking around, processing observations and absorbing insights. Despite the absence of a limitation on the number of substitutions, it doesn’t look like Team Belgium uses it as a strategic tool as much as other teams do. I am learning all the time.

And furthermore, who could have imagined this in November 2007? (when he was diagnosed with DMD, at the age of 6) Or in the fall of 2015? (when he was expelled from the Belgian boyscouts movement because of being in a manual wheelchair and when he started playing powerchair hockey–two loosely related events)

The mid-game score of the game against the Netherlands is 0-12. Final score: 0-23.

The afternoon game against Italy is—again—a difficult one, as expected. Italy demonstrates why they are the ruling world champion. Although rumours say that they are a rather defensive team, they put a lot of forward pressure on our team, allowing us little to no room to escape the area of our own goal. Fyi. A powerchair hockey goal is about 2 meters wide, but no more than 15 cm high. Similar to other versions of hockey, players can go around the goal. I am obviously just beginning to know the game, but, despite the similar score (mid-game: 0-11; final: 0-19), the way the Netherlands played the game impressed me a lot more.

Our son wasn’t given the chance to play against Italy. We have no idea why (not).

Given his ambitions and the fire of the sportsman that I know is burning in him, I have some good evening conversations with my son about the result, the team’s performance and his frustration of not being able to contribute. Sometimes a dad can’t do a lot more than being available, listen and try to motivate him to work hard and do the best he can. And my son, being the driven athlete that he is, is not supposed to be happy with the result anyhow, right?

Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the arena has been impressive and outstanding. It is vibrant and full of noisy cheering, but all in a spirit of fairness and sportspersonship.

Whew!

Match day 1 left us with a feeling of accomplishment albeit with some mixed feelings too. More time to play! Tomorrow…

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1 (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 3 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

After two days of ‘horror’, that means having to wake up early for different reasons, my son and I are now enjoying breakfast at a more decent time. Which means we have slept a bit longer. I notice how my son goes for the ‘traditional’ breakfast that our kids always go for in the context of a hotel stay with a buffet: scrambled eggs, sausage(s) and bacon.

But, then it’s time to get serious again. After all, we are here because my son is a player in the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team and is as such participating in the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland.

The seriousness of today starts with having yet another aspect of the athletes being checked out. In a “classification” process every player is interviewed and assessed by a panel on various aspects: their physical capabilities and abilities, mobility, strength. That assessment leads to the assignment of a number of points to a player, where a higher number is an indication of higher mobility and strength. Fyi. 0.5 is the minimum and 3.5 is considered very high. This is important because a team is not allowed to have more than 12 points on the pitch during a game. There is no limitation to substituting players during the game, but there can never be more than 12 points in the field.

The classification is indirectly also an indication of the ability to hold a floor stick or having to play with a T-stick (for not being able to play with a stick in hand). A T-stick is a stick attached to the powerchair. Many of the athletes have progressive disabilities, meaning it gets worse over time. That is the case for our son, by the way. Others are just born with less physical abilities. As players score low, or lower and lower over time, they might reach the point of getting scored 1.0 or less, which is often the point where they go from playing with a hand stick to playing with a T-stick. That is also important for the team composition because, next to having no more than 12 points in play, a team is required to have minimally one T-stick player on the field, besides the goal keeper who also plays with a T-stick. So, there can never be more than 3 hand stick players in play at the same time for a team, as the game is played 5 against 5.

The outcome of this step of the classification process however is only a temporary score. The classifiers (you can recognize them by the green shirts that they wear) are attending games to verify their findings against the actual performance and behavior of a player on the field. The temporary score can still be corrected upon their observations. It is only after the first round of the world cup, the group phase, that the final score is assigned (Friday 12 August). A player needs to have a final score to be allowed to play in the finals phase of the world cup (Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 August). That does therefore imply that a player must have some chances to actually play during the first round.

And maybe you will remember the “IPCH Classification Consent form” that we needed to submit as mentioned in “Entry 2 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee“? That is the document in which the players accept that the international classification takes precedence over the national one.

I must admit that the whole “classification” procedure was far less formalistic and bureaucratic than I had feared. The team of classifiers (3 people) were open, clear and patient in taking our son through the complete scenario. There was total transparency about the classifiers’ score on individual topics as well as combined results. And the temporary-final score was as expected, holding that it is also lower than the last national check. Our son went from 2.5 to 1.5. I am pretty sure it won’t change when the final score is determined.

Note: I was allowed to take pictures of the classification process but only with the consent of the classification team and the people present from Team Belgium and only for the potential use in a book that one of the classifiers is writing. It is about the classification process, so not really for the general public. I wish Kees the best of luck with writing his handbook for classifiers! Having written a few books and papers myself, I know how much work goes into it.

This step concluded all tests and assessments that our son had to undergo which means he is now actually allowed to actually play:

• Documents control? ☑️
• Speed check (forward, reverse)? ☑️
• Powerchair and equipment compliance? ☑️
• Classification? ☑️

After lunch the team has a light tactical training at the training location. Ending a training by asking all players to do a few shoot-out penalties is a bit of a tradition as well.

But, obviously, the BIG MOMENT of today is the OPENING CEREMONY of the world championship. Yesterday we felt pretty overwhelmed entering the arena for the first time, going on the pitch for the first time, getting our materials checked again.

But…this is the REAL, REAL THING, and more than overwhelming.

Being a total emotional softy, I also had a few tears rolling down my cheeks a few times, thinking about the honour of being there with the team, the pride of our son being in the team, considering the long road of getting there, the many complications and difficulties encountered during his life so far, his persistence and ambitions. Even at the national anthem being played. It wasn’t easy, it isn’t easy and it will never be (easy). But there are moments when we realize that the fight is worthwhile.

I was proud to be able to join Team Belgium in the parade with all of the other teams to greet the audience, accept the appreciation from the audience, show our gratitude for being at the event and remember the loved ones who are no longer with us.

Personally, I salute all players, their assistants and the staff members for the hard work they put into their sports and their lives, the persistence they show in addressing and overcoming the many, many challenges that they meet in their daily lives as well in their sport. Believe me, they can fill a few blogs with stories…

Whew!

We are sooooo glad that the days of checking in and being checked out are over. Time to play! Tomorrow…

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2) (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 2 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

My son and I witness the breaking of dawn of yet another day. It is the second day in a row (O, the horror!) that we have to get up horribly early. Unless we want to skip breakfast, which is a ‘no go’ ‘no brainer’. The reason that breakfast happens, as planned and thus not completely unexpected, at the unholy time of 7am is that a light warm-up training is planned at 9am. Anyone in for a game of 5 why’s?

But, hey, we are not here* to relax in the end. We are here because my son is a player in the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team and is as such participating in the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland. So far, luckily, that prospect (of playing: exciting) but also the weather (pretty hot) and the company (lovely) still make up for those horrific get-up experiences that we have been forced to go through so far.

* ‘here’ refers to the hotel Sempachersee near the…Sempachersee (where ‘See’ = lake because ‘Meer’ = sea**)

** See entry 1 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

The light warm-up training is happening at the training location near the hotel. Allow me to add that next to a number of beautiful training halls, the area next to the hotel also includes a hospital, a research centre (the ‘Guido Zäch Institut’), a swimming pool and various other outside sports facilities for athletes with disabilities. The hotel is actually part of the the Swiss Paraplegic Center (SPZ), which thus comprises all facilities mentioned.

The training is followed by the “document control” phase. If you wonder what that is, you need to know first that next to being selected for the national world cup team (which is a decision made by the national coach based on–let’s say–‘technical’ criteria) our son/athlete (ahum, his father did all the work actually) needed to fill in (or get filled in) and share a number of documents. This included a “Medical Diagnosis Form”, a “Medical Report”, a “Therapeutic Use Exemption Application form”, the (signed) “Code of Conduct” and the “IPCH Classification Consent form”. As a reward for all that hard work we received a “Certificate of Approval for Therapeutic Use” (TUE)”, allowing our son to keep taking the medication he needs to take for his rare disorder without it being considered as illegal doping.

Now the time has come for a jury to verify (one by one) that the athletes are who they say they are and suffer from whatever it is they say they suffer from. They are visually matched against their ID which then in turn is expected to correspond to the personal information on all those uploaded (but now printed) documents and the doping exemption (TUE) following from that.

The next check concerns the powerchairs that the players use during the game.

Note that these are specific machines that are different from the powerchairs they use in daily life. Think how a F1 car differs from the cars we use to commute or to go shopping. The maximum speed of a powerchair during a game should not exceed 15 km/h. To verify that they don’t go faster (because it is a configurable parameter), the players need to drive their machine on a test rig and go full throttle while the computer registers the actual speed. Fyi. this is more scary to witness than it sounds.

After lunch, a second (light) training is planned, but this training session is happening in the real venue where the world championship is actually taking place, the Stadthalle Sursee.

First impression? Omg!

And it is more than somewhat overwhelming to go on the floor that was especially constructed for the tournament in a hall that can contain a few thousand spectators. And this is where our team is going to compete with 9 other teams from around the world: (in alphabetic order) Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

But, more things need to be checked out. This training is followed by a more comprehensive “materials control” phase. This step holds that all materials that will be used by the players during the games need to be controlled for compliance with the official specifications. This includes the floorball sticks, the powerchairs (remember: their F1 car) and all other ‘equipment’ used while playing, even breathing or voice aids. The chairs were tested again for their speed, but this time not only the forward speed but also the speed when driving in reverse.

And then silly me couldn’t resists asking what it is that the controllers look for when checking out a floorball stick. That was the sign for them to switch from a quick visual check to a thorough, detailed check of our son’s sticks. Aaaaaargh. Some measurements of his sticks turned out to be at the limit, meaning they were barely but…at the right side of the edge. Whew!

Time for a break and some hours and the evening off. Checking in and being checked out is pretty exhausting.

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1) (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 1 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

The day started early for my son and me. Unless we wanted to miss the bus that was going to take us and the other team and staff members of the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team to the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022, that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland. Hmm, don’t think so. Don’t wanna miss this!

The first thing to do seems to be: to put to the test what one (1) bus can actually hold.

It turns out: 10 athletes, a coach, a team manager, 12 assistants, a driver, 21 powerchairs, 4 mobile lifts, one regular wheelchair, a few shower chairs and a collection of bags and suitcases. Remember: this is what fits into one (1) bus! (Given a little backpack for the bus, called a ski box, attached to the bus after taking my picture). Hmm, not bad. Imagine the teams of Canada and Australia making the trip by plane. I did hear they are renting their sports powerchairs however, which sounds like a disadvantage as players really are one with their chair (and having to drive a different chair breaks that unity).

The rest of the day mainly consists of driving, driving, driving and more…driving. In-between are a few breaks (for a breath of fresh air, leg stretching, a drink, lunch). In total, we are about 10 hours underway, which is actually less than I feared for. Luckily, no traffic jams today. Thanks, Hilaire, for taking us safely across half of Europe!

‘Switzerland’ doesn’t just mean the 2022 world cup of powerchair hockey and 4 official languages, but it also means no Euro (€) and (much worse) the end of 4G (or, at least, the end of free roaming). On the other hand, there is plenty of tunnel visions (meaning: tunnels to be viewed from the inside) as well as depths to cross. And mountains to climb. Those latter challenges however are easier to address sitting in a bus.

Around 6 pm we arrive at the hotel Sempachersee near the…Sempachersee (where ‘See’ = lake because ‘Meer’ = sea*). This is where all 10 teams from around the world will stay and train. We unpack and pack again as rooms get switched because of team members showing solidarity with each others’ needs and requirements.

* I know, I know, this does make a lot less sense in English than it does in Dutch.

However, upon our arrival we get the first bad news of the trip already: breakfast next morning is at 7am. I don’t know how that is to you, but to me that is torture, pure horror.

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I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.

Entry 1 of an assistant’s web-log of the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee

In November 2007, at the age of 6 and after a disturbingly bumpy road of a few years’ searching for the (medical) cause of his physical problems, our oldest son was diagnosed with “Duchenne” (which is short for “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” or DMD, see Wikipedia). It was the end of our search for an explanation but not the end of the bumpy road and our pretty complicated life, certainly taking into account that his brother (2 years younger) has Down Syndrome.

Our ambition was always to avoid our sons’ disabilities to become the centre and the exclusive focus of our family life. After all, they are boys with a disability, not disabled boys (men in the meantime). It wasn’t easy, it isn’t easy and it will never be (easy). But there are moments when we realize that the fight is worthwhile.

Today, July-August 2022, at the age of 20, our son is not only studying History at the Antwerp University but he is also a member of the Belgian National Powerchair Hockey Team.

And he is participating in the world championship of his sport, the IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022, that is happening 9-14 August in Sursee, Switzerland.

However, it is not that this just happened overnight.

Our son started playing powerchair hockey in 2015. But the road to membership of the national team started only in early July 2021 when our son last-minute registered for and joined a 3-day training camp for powerchair hockey players. It was a great opportunity for him to play again, after the difficult Corona-period where all activity had been paused (keep in mind that people with neuromuscular and similar problems are a high-risk group for Covid-19, no matter their age). We had no idea but the camp was co-organized by the coach of the national team. By the end of the 3 days, she invited our son to join the training sessions that were being organized to form a team and prepare for the 2022 world cup. She added that the invitation was not a guarantee of being selected for the WC. He was asked because they spotted some good defending and positioning skills and insights in him. And, as with every sport, more is required in powerchair hockey than just blindly attacking and trying to score. Blocking opponents is even an extremely important part of the game.

In the spring of 2022 our son got the pleasant news that he was selected to be actually part of the group going to the World Cup.

I am joining my son as his personal assistent (a role I’ve already been fulfilling for several years). It means I help him dress, undress, wash and daily hygiene, eat, get in/out of bed, visit the restroom, change chairs, transportation. That is therefore my primary focus when traveling to and being with him and the team in Switzerland.

However, next to taking care of my son, another ambition (honestly, it was a suggestion of my wife) is to report back on our stay and our journey. I figured going back to the origins of a web-log (What’s in a name, right?) and share the story of our presence at the world championship in daily reports. I want to thereby avoid too much over-thinking and re-writing. We’ll see whether that works out. Given that the wifi works out…

I think of these reports as an assistant’s web-logs of the “IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup 2022 Sursee”, and I plan to publish them under the heading of “IWAS PCH WC 2022 entries”, where the current blog note is “IWAS PCH WC 2022 Entry 0: Introduction”.

I hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventure for which I envision following episodes:

• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 0: Introduction (what you are reading)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 1 (Sunday 7 August): Gotta go
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 2 (Monday 8 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 1)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 3 (Tuesday 9 August): Checking in and being checked out (part 2)
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 4 (Wednesday 10 August): Match day 1
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 5 (Thursday 11 August): Match day 2
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 6 (Friday 12 August): Match day 3
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 7 (Saturday 13 August): Play-offs
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 8 (Sunday 14 August): Finals
• IWAS PCH WC 2022, Entry 9 (Monday 15 August): After-day

If you want to watch any of the games, check out the IWAS YouTube channel where all will be broadcasted: https://www.youtube.com/c/powerchairhockey/.