Pre-teen hockey players across Canada could soon be banned from bodychecking.
Delegates at Hockey Canada’s annual general meeting in Charlottetown are expected to vote this weekend on whether to eliminate the practice for peewee players – mostly 11- to 12-year-olds – as has been done in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
There has long been disagreement over whether to allow hitting among young hockey players.
The issue gained momentum last year after a study showed that the rate of injury was three times higher in Alberta than in Quebec. At that time, the peewee bodychecking ban had not yet been introduced in Alberta.
“Those are pretty staggering numbers,” Hockey Nova Scotia executive director Darren Cossar said. “Removing checking will clearly eliminate the number of injuries at that level and for 11- and 12-year-old players, and we think that’s the absolute appropriate thing to do.”
According to Hockey Alberta, the study indicated that a ban on checking at the peewee level would prevent 400 concussions and more than 1,000 injuries each year in the province.
Earlier this month, Hockey Alberta banned body checking in all categories of peewee hockey.
Starting in September, peewee players in the province who bodycheck will be subject to penalites.
On May 12, Nova Scotia becamethe latest province to ban body checking for peewee players after Hockey Nova Scotia’s board voted unanimously to eliminate it.
The board also voted to ban the practice for the B and C levels of the bantam and midget leagues (ages 13 through 18).
At the organization’s annual general meeting in the Halifax area, members heard from a young boy who had to give up playing hockey after suffering a concussion.
“Here we have a young kid that's 13 or 14 years old and his hockey career is over,” Hockey Nova Scotia president Randy Pulsifer said. “You have to look in your heart and say, 'What's best?”'
The organization plans to help retrain coaches in the province on body contact and bodychecking techniques that will help peewee players prepare for playing at a higher level, Pulsifer said.
He added that he thinks Hockey Canada should implement the same rules.
Not everyone agrees that peewee players should not be allowed to bodycheck. Some say the practice prepares young players for tougher games at older levels.
Former Calgary Flames star Theo Fleury credits bodychecking for his success in the NHL.
Another argument in favour of the practice is that it can prevent injuries.
“Our view is, start it younger, teach it as a skill just like any other skill and there's less likelihood of there being any injuries,” Kelly McClintock, general manager of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association.
One young player said bodychecking is just part of the game.
“I’m small for kids my age and I haven’t had a single concussion,” said 12-year-old Justin Turko. “I think you have to be smart about what you’re doing.”
But Paul Carson, vice-president of hockey development for Hockey Canada, said the Alberta study found “no significant difference in injuries” between Alberta and Quebec, “which would suggest that being predisposed to bodychecking in peewee is not necessarily advantageous to the bantam level hockey player.”
A motion to raise the minimum checking age would come on Saturday with any changes to take effect in the 2013-2014 season.
With a report from CTV’s Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks and files from The Canadian Press
