HUGH STAYS COOL FOR QUEENSLAND
Toowoomba ice hockey player enjoys nationals
ICE HOCKEY: Hugh Campbell spends a lot of time in his parents’ basement.
The smooth floor of the room is as close as he can get to an ice hockey rink in Toowoomba.
The 12-year-old spends great lengths of time honing his stick and puck control as well as boosting his hand-eye coordination.
“I shoot pucks in the basement a lot,” Campbell said.
“I do that about four times a week if I can – the hard, smooth floor is a bit like an ice hockey rink.
“And I have roller-blades for skating.”
Campbell also lines up for Acacia Ridge-based team the Southern Stars – regularly travelling to Brisbane to train and play.
It’s a dedication and passion that has paid off, with Campbell part of Queensland’s under-13 team that competed at the Australian Ice Hockey Championships in Melbourne.
Campbell lined up as a left defenseman in a side that finished fourth after losing to Western Australia in the semifinal.
“I was pretty happy with how I played,” he said.
“You have to be very active as defenseman and it helps if you’re a leftie (left-handed) as well.”
Introduced to the sport by his Canadian father, Duncan, Hugh said he loved the fastpaced nature of the game.
“It’s a real rush. It’s fast and exciting to play,” he said.
For now though, Campbell will have to be satisfied with his Southern Stars and state representative duties as Queensland does not have a team in the Australian Ice Hockey League.
Duncan Campbell believes that problem could be easily solved.
“The Queensland ice hockey community is small but very passionate,” he said.
“I believe if someone were to build a dedicated rink the support would be there and it would grow.
“Toowoomba has a big number of field hockey players and I think they would transition to ice hockey quite well and with more numbers Queensland would be competitive.”
IT’S A REAL RUSH. IT’S FAST AND EXCITING... HUGH CAMPBELL