US Para-Hockey World Cup Team
The Game Has Room for Everyone. So Does the World Cup.
The inaugural FIH Para Hockey World Cup is the first world championship ever dedicated to Hockey ii — field hockey for athletes with an intellectual disability. USA Field Hockey was invited to compete, and this team said yes. They’ve trained across the country, earned their spots, and are ready to represent the United States in Belgium this August. Your support covers the real costs of getting them there — travel, gear, and preparation — for a team that’s ready to compete and proud to wear the USA jersey.
![Team USA Hockey ii athletes and coaches at the Agnes Irwin training camp](https://fieldhockeyallstarz.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/team-group-photo.jpg")
Team USA
Hockey ii
Ten athletes. Five coaches. One World Cup. For the first time in history, Para field hockey athletes will compete for a world title — and Team USA has earned its place on the field.
One Pathway. From Your Local Field to the World Stage.
All Starz is USA Field Hockey's national adaptive field hockey league — a sport for all, and a sport for life. Hockey ii is the competitive tier that draws from All Starz when international competition calls, and returns athletes to their home programs when it's done.
All Starz
All Starz is the community foundation of adaptive field hockey in the United States — open to athletes of all ages and abilities, with divisions built around skill and type of play, from social to competitive. It is the essential home base: a welcoming team, a place to belong, and a place to grow, for life.
All Starz programs are currently active in Scarsdale, NY (Able Athletics); Pittsburgh, PA (Bridges Field Hockey); Hershey, PA (PA Revs); and Kensington, MD (Beyond Sticks) — with new programs forming in Nashville, Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Boston, and Los Angeles.
Hockey ii
Hockey ii sits at the competitive and improve levels of our development pathway — the next step for athletes ready to train and compete at a national and international level. When the FIH calls for a Para Hockey competition, USA Field Hockey selects a national team from across All Starz programs.
After competition, those athletes return to their All Starz teams and communities. The pull-out happens roughly every two years — Hockey ii is a visit to the world stage, not a departure from home.
All Starz
Sport for all, sport for life. The community home for adaptive field hockey, nationwide.
Hockey ii
National team training and competition — the competitive & improve tier of the pathway.
World Cup
Team USA represents the country on the world stage — then comes home.
One Team, Two Classifications
Team USA Hockey ii competes under the international Para Hockey classification system for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Two eligible groups are represented on our roster — training and competing together, as one squad.
Athletes whose eligibility is based on an intellectual impairment, assessed under international Para sport classification standards.
Athletes whose eligibility is based on Down syndrome, a distinct classification group recognized within the same Para Hockey competition.
Team USA's roster was built through a national talent search and a series of training camps held throughout 2026, drawing athletes age 16 and up from All Starz programs across the country.
A Historic Moment for Adaptive Sport
For the first time, Para field hockey athletes with an intellectual impairment will compete for a World Championship. The inaugural FIH Para Hockey World Cup runs August 19–25, 2026, across venues in Belgium and the Netherlands, with 16 nations taking part. Team USA competes in Pool A.
Team USA has been assigned to share facilities in Belgium alongside the USA Women's National Team — a powerful symbol of unity and equal standing across USA Field Hockey. For our athletes, it's an experience of real equity, in sport and in life: the same fields, the same setup, the same flag.
The FIH has a long-term goal of Paralympic inclusion for Para Hockey, with an eye toward Brisbane 2032. This World Cup — and Team USA's place in it — is a first, visible step on that pathway.
Why This Matters — Now
For many athletes in the Hockey ii community, ongoing options for competition, community, and belonging are rare. This program exists to provide all three — and to prove that the benefits of high-performance sport belong to this community too.
Community & Belonging
A team to train with, travel with, and represent your country with — built on the relationships formed in All Starz programs nationwide.
The High-Performance Standard
Structured coaching, real competition, and the chance to wear the USA jersey on the world stage — opportunities every athlete deserves a chance at.
A Growing Pipeline
New All Starz programs are forming in Nashville, Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Boston, and Los Angeles — joining programs in Hershey and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Long Island and Scarsdale, New York and Bethesda, Maryland. We want to keep growing opportunities for these athletes..
Why We're Fundraising
Para Hockey is a self-funded sport in the United States. There is no federal or USOPC funding stream to cover this team's travel, gear, or training — every dollar comes from people like you.
Travel & Logistics
Flights, ground transport, and accommodations to Belgium for the full team — 10 athletes and 5 volunteer coaches and staff.
Athlete Gear
USA team uniforms, equipment, and professional apparel — representing the USA on the world stage.
Training
Practice venues, coaching time, and tune-up matches in the months before the World Cup, led by volunteer co-head coaches Lindsay Jackson and Heidi Lewis.
Program Legacy
Building the foundation for Hockey ii beyond 2026, as Para Hockey grows across the Pan American region and toward Brisbane 2032.
Every gift — of any size — moves Team USA closer to Belgium and helps build what comes after the World Cup.
Two Ways to Support Team USA
GoFundMe
The fastest way to give and share. Follow along with team updates, and help spread the word — every dollar and every share counts.
gofund.me/19fa591b6USA Field Hockey Foundation
Give through the USA Field Hockey Foundation's secure donation form. Gifts made this way are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Donate NowUSA Field Hockey is the National Governing Body for the sport of field hockey in the United States, and runs the All Starz and Hockey ii programs. The USA Field Hockey Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises funds in support of USA Field Hockey programs, including Team USA Hockey ii's campaign for the FIH Para Hockey World Cup. Both organizations are federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and gifts made through either channel support this team.
Team USA in Training
FIH parahockey
World Cup Team
Hockey ii Belongs
Competitive International Play for athletes who qualify under Virtus National Level as having an intellectual disability.
This team is all about life skills, hockey skills, teamwork, belonging, achievement & FUN!
Personal growth and life skill acquisition through sport is our missions. Many young people get to grow and mature through playing sports.
Hockey ii provides that chance to people with intellectual disabilities to do the same through the sport of field hockey. This year, we have a unique opportunity to grow and compete at the 1st ever FIH ParaHockey World Cup!
Fun Leads the Way
One of 16 nations invited to play in the 2026 FIH ParaHockey World Cup, the USA will send 10 athletes to complete in Belgium or the Netherlands, alongside the Senior National Teams, who are also qualified for their World Cup, provided we can raise the funds to compete.
Our co-ed team will train and travel to play against other nations, while flexing life skills and developing new ones as we go. With a 2:1 player to coach ratio, the event is set up for success. The FIH has added calming rooms at every pitch and has medical staff available on site. Our team will travel, stay and play together at the same site as our Senior National Team is assigned. What will this look like? You can see how this looks for other nations in the video at the top of the page.
The USA All Starz are a new program on the world stage and even our national stage. With such a large geographic area, training as a team represents an added challenge for us.
We know that training with each other will be important for us. We need to practice our hockey, practice our travelling and practice our teamwork.
We are fundraising to get our team to the World Cup, and also to train together, practicing everything we need to be ready to compete.
