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DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - A new hockey program at Deh Gah School gave students more ice time this winter and the proper equipment to wear for the game.

Beginning in January, all of the students at the school in Fort Providence were given the option to play hockey if they wanted to. Interested students were taken to the community's arena to play every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.

"The students want to play hockey and sometimes it's just not organized," said Lois Philipp, the school's principal.

The students often don't have a chance to play hockey after classes and the school saw this as a way to utilize the rink, Philipp said. The hockey program was offered in addition to the regular physical education classes at the school.

Approximately 60 students took advantage of the chance to play hockey. In order to be able to play, however, many students needed hockey equipment.

The school contacted Sport North who directed them to The Brick Sport Central in Edmonton. Sport Central takes donated, gentle used equipment and redistributes it to students who would otherwise not be able to play sports.

With help from Sports Central the school was able to provide approximately 40 students with complete sets of hockey equipment. With their new equipment on the male students at both the elementary, junior and senior high levels got in about 10 weeks of hockey.

The shipment of equipment for female students didn't arrive until later so the elementary girls only played between four to six weeks, Philipp said.

"I think it went really well," she said.

The students had the chance to play hockey and as a side benefit they increased their levels of physical fitness, said Philipp. The school will offer the program again next year, she said.

On the ice the budding hockey stars practiced skating, passing and shooting, said Christopher Carson, a teacher at the school.

Teachers tried to make the program fun by using different exercises and drills to teach the skills, Carson said.

"They enjoyed it," he said about the students.

The program successfully met its goals.

"It was designed to improve fitness levels and have fun," Carson said.