'It's high energy. It's a bit dangerous': The new sport gaining momentum in Newcastle

She was instantly hooked.

The bursts of speed, the adrenaline rush, the freedom, the crashing.

All of it drew her in.

That was about three years ago, and now the Sydney-based 53-year-old is among a number of Newcastle players in the mix to represent Australia at the inaugural Women's World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Slovakia in August.

Holt, who claimed a silver medal in shot put at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, hopes more people give the sport a go at the Newcastle Northstars' come-and-try day at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, Warners Bay on Sunday morning.

Para ice hockey has been growing globally in recent years and will feature at the 2030 Winter Paralympics in France.

"I've always been really sporty," Holt told the Newcastle Herald this week.

"Once I retired from that I built my business. Then I was looking for something. I wanted to get back into sport, because I love sport.

"So I actually went to a come-and-try day and I just loved it. We didn't do much. It wasn't on the ice. It was in a basketball court, but I thought, 'This sport has got my name all over it'.

"It's high energy. It's a bit dangerous. I think you have to be a bit crazy to play. But that really drew me to it."

When Newcastle started offering a para ice hockey program in 2023, Holt was quick to join.

"I drove up and it was like a duck to water," Holt said.

"I loved it, and I don't think I've missed a session.

"I fell over a lot the first time I got on the ice. It's more challenging than you think. It looks easy because you're gliding but you need a lot of core strength.

"Getting back up is such a challenge and I thought, 'Will I actually be able to do this?' But over time, I can get up easily now and I've gotten better as I've gone along."

Holt, originally from Western Australia, was born with spina bifida and has needed a wheelchair her whole life.

Opportunities for people with a disability to play sport when she was growing up were few and far between.

"I started sport when I was nine," Holt said.

"There were sports available to us but we were very limited. I luckily found a disability sports club and found my people there, basically. Before that, in schools, they didn't know what to do with us and they'd put us in the library when the sports clubs were on.

"We weren't able to participate in the sport days that they had. It was a bit limiting back then.

"Since the Paralympics in Sydney, I think life has been changing. It was the start of something big, and it's come a long way.

"We're actually now seen as athletes and not just disabled people having a go. We put a lot of time and effort into training. We take it very seriously and we work just as hard as the able-bodied people do."

Holt represented the Pacific at the World Women's Challenge in Norway last year and is determined to earn selection in the Australian team bound for the first world championships.

But it's not just a competitive edge that she has found in the sport.

"I love the ice and being on the ice," Holt said.

"It's an amazing feeling. You're gliding at speed and then hitting into people. I laugh the whole time I'm on the ice.

"It is such an amazing sport. I'm getting fitter. I'm getting a social aspect. I've made some really good friends there.

"Everyone has different goals. My goal is to represent Australia. Other people's goals might be fitness or socialisation. There's so many reasons to come and try it.

"It's not scary. We are padded up. There's so much padding. There's helmets. There's chest plates. Falling over is not an issue.

"Newcastle have really embraced us. I drive there happily because we are so looked after and we do have the opportunities that not a lot of other ice rinks would give us."

In para ice hockey, players use sleds and two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing and a blade-end for shooting.

Dawn Watt coaches the Newcastle Northstars para ice hockey squad and will be on hand on Sunday from 9.15am at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium for people 13 and over who want to try the sport. A range of coaches will assist on the ice from 9.45am.