skip navigation

Hockey Canada’s older bodychecking age sends a message that children’s safety is paramount

By The Globe & Mail, 05/27/13, 11:45AM MDT

Share

 

The willful blindness in hockey at all levels toward concussions has diminished. Hockey Canada, the governing body for minor hockey, has followed the lead of USA Hockey in barring bodychecking below age 13, down from 11. What happened to hockey’s greatest star, Sidney Crosby, a year lost to a head injury in which the game’s (and his own) willful blindness almost certainly put him at severe risk, opened the eyes of hockey people everywhere. This country’s children have been facing similar risks at early ages, and Hockey Canada had to confront a powerful strain in the country’s psyche to make the rule change; the attachment to bodychecking from an early age is part of what makes Canadian hockey what it is.

The rule change should be taken as an opportunity to emphasize skill development in an atmosphere shorn of intimidation, and to curb the loss of thousands of young players who don’t enjoy that atmosphere, or whose parents don’t relish the thought of allowing their children’s growing brains to become scrambled.

More...

Read more of the article at theglobeandmail.com!

Related News

Michigan Womens's Ice Hockey Team - by Nolan Bona
  • The Game Lives On

  • By Clara Boudette 03/13/2024, 10:15am MDT
  • The University of Michigan Women’s Ice Hockey Team Embraces Domestic & Global Opportunities American College Hockey Association Provides
  • Read More
The Lady Duck "We Play Her Way" program smiles for a photograph on the ice.
Group Picture of the adaptive hockey on-ice event. They are wearing Victory Green Dallas Stars jerseys and black and orange jerseys as they pose for a picture on the ice.
A young boy, in a black Bauer helmet and a navy USA Hockey/NHL jersey sits on the ice and smiles during Try Hockey For Free Day
The Grow Colorado Goalies clinic takes a group photo, with coaches and young goaltenders on the ice.
The Irish Youth Hockey League hosting a Try Hockey For Free Event. Young girls on the ice pose for a photograph after the event.
Two young girl players, one in a black & yellow jersey and another in a white & red jersey, play hockey
Two young athletes with dark blue "Future Islanders" jerseys stand on the ice holding sticks.
USA Hockey Board of Directors meeting

Most Popular Articles

The Over-80 USA Hockey Team, comprised of players from eight different states (New Hampshire, Minnesota, Alaska, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Florida and California), came together in the Fall of 2023 to compete in the Canada 150 Cup tournament in B

For the Over-80 U.S. Team, Age Is Just a Number

By Steve Mann 02/23/2024, 4:00pm MST

Eleven Different Cities in Nine States Will Crown Champions Nationwide