New ball hockey league starting in Swift Current
Swift Current is set to become the fifth city in the province with its own ball hockey league.
The Saskatchewan Ball Hockey League has announced the expansion of the game to Swift Current, which will join existing leagues in Lloydminster, Prince Albert, Regina, and Saskatoon.
“Our goal is to try to expand ball hockey throughout the province,” League President Dean Crossland said. “I originally started the league in 2009. It started in Saskatoon and had originally started with 33 youth players and just under 100 adults and was only in Saskatoon. Now we have leagues in Regina, Prince Albert, Lloydminster and Saskatoon, and then Swift Current would be the next up for this year.”
The league has experienced significant growth since it started 10 years ago and there are annually about 5,000 players in the province.
“There's been a lot of interest actually,” he said. “That's why we went from I think 133 players in 2009 to the last four or five years we've had around 5,000 players playing annually in the different cities. The big thing is the skating is eliminated for some that aren't interested in that, and they get cardio workout for off-season players or for adults. You can spend an hour being bored on the treadmill and waiting for the workout to end, or you can play a couple of games of ball hockey a week and burn off more calories probably than you would on the treadmill and enjoy it a lot more.”
The decision to expand to another city is a result of a recent move by a former Regina league player to Swift Current. Crossland was contacted by Chris Keleher, the community recreation coordinator at the City of Swift Current.
“He suggested that it will be a good fit for there,” Crossland recalled. “From my end, when we're looking for a league coordinator to help facilitate things and being that he's a recreation programmer with the City that had been in our leagues before and that he was really interested in doing it, I thought that this would be a good place to go and also it being a big hockey town.”
Keleher is therefore the league coordinator for the new Swift Current league. It will initially start with divisions for youth and men. The youth division follows the same age categories as ice hockey from initiation (2011/12) to midget (2000/02). In some of the existing four city leagues, for example in Saskatoon, there is also a tyke age group (2013/14/15).
“We have players that are anywhere from three and four playing in that league,” Crossland said. “It's a great introductory sport for people that may have interest in their sons or daughters playing hockey and they're not on the skates yet, but they get all the fundamentals of ice hockey – the stick handling, the shooting. They tend over time to get to understand the game play.”
He added that the cost to play ball hockey is lower than for ice hockey, both with regard to registration and equipment.
“You're not paying for skates and shin pads and all the other stuff,” he said. “You just basically need the gloves and the helmet and the stick. The other thing too is if they start in ball hockey and then go into ice hockey, they already got the gloves and the helmet and the stick and then they can supplement the other equipment too.”
There are various reasons why ball hockey can be a good option for players in the other age groups from youth to adult.
“There's some people that just can't afford to play hockey or they haven't played it or skating is kind of the reason they're either not playing or have left hockey, but they still like the game,” he said. “The other side of that is the ice hockey players. They come from playing all year on ice and they get to play another form of hockey. They get to join with friends and play on the same team and it's good conditioning.”
Beginners who have never played ball or ice hockey are welcome to join the league. Players only play in their own division in their city league and no travelling is therefore required to play games.
“I think that's one thing that people enjoy, the parents especially,” he said. “They go to the rink for an hour, they don't have to get skates on and everything else. They just go there, put on their shoes, the kids play, and then back and there's no real travelling.”
The goal would be to have enough players to form four teams in each age group, which will be about 48 players, but they have started to play the game in other cities with just three teams.
“The ideal situation would be if we could get four teams in most age categories in relation to ice hockey, but if needed be, then you would change your age categories,” he said. “We'll find that out once registration is done. So if we don't have enough in say initiation for six and seven year olds, we might have enough for six, seven and eight year olds and just expand the division and build the teams and balance teams out accordingly.”
The new league in Swift Current is open to anyone from southwest Saskatchewan who is willing to travel to the city for games.
“The games are usually slated once a week for Sundays,” he said. “The earlier times in the day we schedule based on age categories. So the youngest kids will play the earliest times in the day and it will just work itself up to the adults playing at night.”
There are various options when individuals register for the league. People can register as an individual and they will then be placed in a team and division in relation to their skill. Alternatively they can register as a small group of two to four players or as a larger group.
“Players can actually play together and register and be on the same team,” Crossland said. “One of the things we do that's unique in our league is the championship trophies are replica Stanley Cups. So they're three feet, and if your team wins that division or age category, not only does your team name get engraved on it, but every player's name gets engraved on the cup for that year.”
The deadline for registration to play in the new league in Swift Current is March 21 and the first games will be played in mid-April. For more information and to register, visit the Saskatchewan Ball Hockey League website at www.saskballhockey.com or go to the Swift Current Ball Hockey League website at www.swiftcurrentballhockey.com.