The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitation centre in Stockholm, Sweden,[citation needed] and played under similar rules to standard ice hockey.

Players are seated on sleds and use special hockey sticks with metal "teeth" on the tips of their handles to navigate the ice.

[3][4] Two men from Sweden designed the sledge in the 1960s[citation needed] because they wanted to continue to play hockey despite their physical disabilities.

[6] On November 30, 2016, as part of a rebranding of the IPC's self-governed sports under the new World Para Sports name, and citing that the word "sledge" had differing meanings between languages, the International Paralympic Committee announced that it would henceforth refer to sledge hockey as "Para ice hockey".

The metal teeth cannot be too pointy nor protrude farther than 1 cm beyond the stick, to prevent damage to the ice and injury of other players.

Other equipment includes a helmet with facemask, shoulder and elbow pads, shin guards, and hockey gloves.

Additionally, goalies may make modifications to their equipment: a common mod is to attach the plastic outsoles of track spikes onto the outer part of their gloves to aid in lateral mobility.

The only penalty unique to sledge hockey is Teeing—the act of charging an opponent using any part of the front radius of the sled.

[8] In 2006, Amanda Ahrnbom had been named to the Swedish roster, but was deemed ineligible shortly prior to the Games as the event was only open to male players.