Pages

▼

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Hockey Canada Bans Bodychecking at Peewee Level


Hockey Canada's provincial federations voted in favour of removing bodychecking from peewee hockey, coast to coast in Canada on Saturday.

The motion passed by a nearly unanimous vote, with Saskatchewan registering the only "no" vote in opposition.

The provincial federations have, however, agreed to develop a bodychecking standard for coaching to be implemented in 2014-15.

Earlier this month, both Hockey Alberta - one of Canada's largest hockey federations - and Nova Scotia voted to remove bodychecking from their peewee divisions.

The decision to do away with full-contact leagues for 11- and 12-year-olds came down to player safety, according to one of Alberta's top executives.

"Our players' safety is the foundation in making this decision," Rob Virgil, Hockey Alberta's board chairman, said in a statement after passing the provincial ban.

"There is overwhelming evidence that bodychecking is the single most consistent risk factor for injuries and concussions in youth ice hockey."

Quebec had already eliminated body checking for some peewee leagues prior to the Alberta and Nova Scotia provincial bans, as had some recreational leagues in Ontario.
at

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous5/25/2013

    No body checking doesn't mean no body contact. Watch women's hockey. There is no body checking, yet it's still high skill, fast and quite physical.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5/25/2013

    Thumbs up to Sask Hockey for being the only one to vote against this! Its obvious that we know what is best for hockey in this country.

    Matt

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5/25/2013

    The wussification of hockey continues!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5/26/2013

    Great move. Maybe know we can start emphasizing speed, skill, puck handling, etc. so we can catch up and keep pace with the US, Sweden and Russia.

    Re: wussifiction comment, if you want to watch two goon bash each others heads in, go watch UFC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5/27/2013

    Where's Something To Mitch About????

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5/27/2013

    I'll say it again "the wussification of hockey continues"!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5/27/2013

    having to learn body checking when the game is faster and the players bigger and stronger, begging for something bad to happen!!

    ReplyDelete