They're some of the best athletes in the world. But sledge hockey players who will represent Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Games admit their sport is not well known to most Canadians.

They're hoping that will change after the Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

Sledge hockey -- invented at a Swedish rehabilitation centre in the 1960s and first played at the Paralympic Winter Games in 1994 -- is played on ice by players who have physical disabilities affecting the lower part of their bodies.

Players sit on a sledge-like-frame that supports a blade and athletes propel themselves with short poles. Those who play the game say that once they're on the ice, they're as competitive as any other athlete.

"We're not just out there, happy to be alive and playing," said Team Canada captain Jean Labonte. "We're out there, we're athletes, and we're going to fight hard on the ice ... It's not about being disabled or not. It's about passion."

But the passion of the players hasn't always translated into equality, especially when it comes to funding for their sport.

Under a new program, able-bodied Olympians at the 2010 Games will get money for medals. For example, gold medalists will receive $20,000. But the same doesn't apply to Paralympians.

They still haven't attracted enough corporate sponsors to fund cash rewards. It's a gap some players resent, although many understand that the situation will change only if they can get more exposure.

There has been some progress, however. Players are now paid $21,000 per year, the same as Olympians.

 "We've come a long way, but we've got a long way to go," said Team Canada player Todd Nicholson.

Sledge hockey players say they want to be treated just like other athletes. But they also note that their sport has given them many intangible rewards.

Labonte lost his leg to bone cancer when he was 21. He remembers the day he discovered sledge hockey and how it made him feel born again. At the 2006 Paralympic Games in Turin, Italy, he helped Canada take gold.

"It was my dream come true," he said. "Never would I have thought I'd live to see a moment like that."

Nicholson says sports give Paralympic athletes opportunities that weren't always available before.

"(Sledge hockey) has given me a chance to compete for my country, put on a Team Canada jersey, and travel the world," he said.

With a report from CTV's Roger Smith