Launch of the new ice hockey kinder­garten

“We would like to thank Mayor Gerhard Köfer and the President of the Carinthian Ice Hockey Association, Michael Löschnig, for their cooperation. We would also like to thank the Spittal-based company Kärntnermilch, which has come on board as a partner in the initiative, as well as Willi Pflügl, Managing Director of Spittaler Betriebs-GmbH,”Martin Bodner adds.

The “target group” for the new kindergarten programme is children from all municipally run kindergartens. The children are supported on the ice by professional coaches. The entire project is being delivered as part of the Austrian Ice Hockey Association’s “PEER Programme”.

Mayor Gerhard Köfer: “I am delighted to be able to support this unique new project. It will inspire children, the future of our city, to take part in sporting activities from an early age and offer them an exciting change of pace.”

In addition to Kärntermilch, the project is also receiving strong support from sports equipment supplier “Create Sports” and its Managing Director Kevin Essmann: “It is an honour for us to be involved from the very beginning. Children and ice sports are a perfect match.”

Florian Mühlstein, ÖEHV Head of Youth Training and Development: “With the ice hockey kindergarten, we are bringing our sport even closer to children and sparking enthusiasm for physical activity at a very early age. Society as a whole benefits when young people are physically active. This approach is also pursued through the daily exercise session. Exercise means health and prevention, while play and fun are the top priorities in kindergarten.”

The entire project is being delivered as part of the Austrian Ice Hockey Association’s “PEER Programme”, with starter sets for the children provided by PEER partner ENZO, the Eishockey Nachwuchs Zentrum Ost.