The rules promulgated by the International Paralympic Committee provide that each participating NPC may enter a maximum of: :One men's team of fifteen eligible male athletes; or :One mixed team of up to sixteen eligible athletes of whom a minimum of one of the athletes is female. It was reported that this decision was taken without consulting Canada, the reigning champion in the sport.
Hockey Canada announced that there would be no women on the Canadian ice sledge hockey roster at the Paralympics, because no Canadian women play at that level. At the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Sweden attempted to put a female player on their roster, but were not allowed to do so. ==Preliminary round==