Gladiators Announce Education Day Game & Date Change

The Atlanta Gladiators unveiled their new Education Day program on Tuesday, while simultaneously announcing a rescheduled late-October home game. In order to accommodate various Metro Atlanta school system schedules, thus allowing classrooms to attend Education Day, the Gladiators have moved the Wednesday, October 26th home game against the Wichita Thunder to Thursday, October 27th at 10:05 AM.

This marks the first time in organizational history that the team will play a morning game at home. Gladiators Full and Half Season ticket holders who are unable to make the early start time can exchange their tickets for any other regular season home game of their choosing, eschewing the typical "Never a Wasted Ticket" restrictions.

The Gladiators are partnering with Georgia United Credit Union and the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center for their first Education Day, and worked over the summer to create a hockey and Georgia Standards of Excellence-based curriculum for participating schools. The curriculum will allow teachers to work with their students in advance of the event by teaching not only the basic principles of the game, but also how traditional subjects like mathmetics, science, and language arts are used daily in the hockey world. The packet also includes the history of the league and of the team, geography-based lessons, and a physical education blueprint for getting schoolchildren engaged in the on-ice (or on-field) action.

On the morning of October 27th, the Gladiators will follow STEM education principles to create and feature in-game elements that further educate the students in attendance. With the team utilizing engaging and informative videos as well as interactive elements, the students will find themselves in an immersive experience full of on- and off-ice action and learning. The Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center will also be on hand with their "Maximus’ Forest Friends" exhibit. Maximus, the Gladiators mascot, will interact with the students as they take a break from the hockey and tour the exhibit to learn about the many animals native to Georgia’s forests.

"We are thrilled to provide this educational opportunity for the students of Metro Atlanta," said Gladiators Vice President & General Manager of Business Operations Joe Gelderman. "Our staff has worked closely with administrators and teachers from four different area school systems to put together a plan and curriculum that we feel will be a uniquely interactive and educational field trip. The goal is to create a stimulating experience that students won’t soon forget by turning our arena into the largest classroom in the state."

Schools and/or teachers who are interested in participating in the Gladiators Education Day are encouraged to contact Clyde Patterson in the Gladiators Front Office at 770-497-5102.

The Atlanta Gladiators 14th season kicks off at the Infinite Energy Arena on Friday, October 14th against the Toledo Walleye at 7:35 PM. For ticket information, visit the official team website at www.atlantagladiators.com or call the main office line at 770-497-5100.

The Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation’s premier "AA" hockey league. All home games are played at the 11,355-seat Infinite Energy Arena, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth – where parking is always free. The Gladiators have established an unrivaled commitment to excellence, maintaining a distinctive reputation for affordable and family-friendly sports entertainment and consistently ranked as one of the top “Things To Do” in the Atlanta area and across the North Georgia region. For all the latest team news, contests, and more visit AtlantaGladiators.com, or “like” the Gladiators on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlantaGladiators), follow the team on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ATLGladiators), Instagram (www.instagram.com/atlgladiators) or Snapchat (www.snapchat.com) at "gladshockey".

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