WHL Teams Sport Mismatched Socks to Raise Awareness for Down Syndrome

A couple of Western Hockey League teams used their socks to bring a great cause to the ice on Friday night.

When the Lethbridge Hurricanes hosted the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, March 15, both teams took the ice wearing intentionally mismatched socks. The gesture was meant to raise awareness for World Down Syndrome Day, which takes place every March 21.

Both teams have members of their game day staff who have Down syndrome: Hurricanes game day assistant Ryan Roznowsky and Rebels dressing room attendant Mikel McIver.

The organization behind World Down Syndrome Day also runs the Lots of Socks Campaign, which encourages people to wear mismatched socks to raise awareness and start conversations about Down syndrome.

The Rebels plan to keep the campaign going for two more games, including a rematch against the Hurricanes on Saturday, March 16, in Red Deer and a road game against the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, March 20.

For each of our next three games, including Saturday's home tilt vs. Lethbridge, we'll be wearing mismatched socks in honour of #WorldDownSyndromeDay (March 21) and our buddy Mikel!https://t.co/K80f1au5nE #RDREBELS I #WHL pic.twitter.com/gcI9Sn9WJG
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) March 14, 2024

According to the Cleveland Clinic, Down syndrome is a genetic condition where people are born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, which changes the way their bodies and brains develop. The majority of Down syndrome cases happen randomly, and it usually isn’t inherited from parents. It’s estimated that one in every 6,000 babies are born with the condition in the United States every year.