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Roughly how much Canadiens have played hockey, or street hockey, roller hockey, etc etc any form of hockey in the past if they dont play now?
And I dont mean only in an official capacity like with a pay to play team, but also for fun outside, open hockey at the rink, or in gym class etc etc as well.
Do elementary schools in Canada have their own rinks, or will build an outdoor rink once it starts snowing? Therefore making every kid play, and learn to skate automatically.
There's a community outdoor rink that's always been in my small town. Every boy in my generation played ice hockey. There was no talk of girls playing ice hockey and I don't know of any girl of my generation expressing a desire to play ice hockey. The memory isn't completely clear but I think the girls might have played floor hockey in the school auditorium when I was in 6th grade.
The local rink is supposed to become a covered rink this year.
My guess would be that all boys still play hockey here. My nephews do but my nieces don't and I don't think there's enough interest in girls hockey to make a team.
There's a community outdoor rink that's always been in my small town. Every boy in my generation played ice hockey. There was no talk of girls playing ice hockey and I don't know of any girl of my generation expressing a desire to play ice hockey. The memory isn't completely clear but I think the girls might have played floor hockey in the school auditorium when I was in 6th grade.
The local rink is supposed to become a covered rink this year.
My guess would be that all boys still play hockey here. My nephews do but my nieces don't and I don't think there's enough interest in girls hockey to make a team.
Up here if there is one, it is probably set up and maintained by the School’s PAC or by the local Community Association. They are more likely to be set up in local parks/playgrounds than on school grounds. I don’t think schools have ever had the funding for outdoor rinks. The elementary school down the street from my parents had a “curling rink” every winter for years but that was because a couple of teachers and parents volunteered to set up and maintain it. They used water-filled milk jugs for the rocks.
The city sets up a speed skating loop at the fairgrounds every year. I’m pretty sure that’s the only outdoor rink they prepare. As far as I know they still have skate rental at the indoor rinks but I don’t think they do at the outdoor rink.
Kids will set up pick up games themselves on the outdoor rinks or local ponds. One of my dog walk routes is by a local pond. It was sad to see the abandoned goal net partially frozen in the pond a couple of years ago. The kids that used it grew up and/or moved away so they just left it to the pond.
Re: hockey at school
There is floor hockey and field hockey. Ice hockey might be offered as an option in high school but only at the two largest schools. Renting ice time for hockey is expensive for a single class. It’s cheaper to rent the ice for just skating because multiple classes/schools could use the space and share the cost.
Unlike swimming, skating isn’t potentially a matter of life and death so it generally isn’t a skill schools worry about. Whether or not you learn to skate is often a matter of how interested in skating your parents are.
Re: girls and hockey
My dad was pretty solid on boy things and girl things so I gave up on pick up games pretty quickly. Figure skates give no protection when stopping a puck and you get yelled at for your picks chopping up the ice.
I would suspect that only very large population centres have enough girls (or more importantly their parents) interested in ice hockey to be able to field multiple teams. Most leagues are mixed where warranted. 2 of my nieces made it into the competitive levels on boys teams that can lead to the NHL for the guys. They both decided in the last two years of high school that they would rather spend their weekends travelling with their school’s volleyball and basketball teams than the hockey teams.
1 of those nieces and their mom are in a mixed adult hockey league now.
It seems more girls go into Ringette then Hockey. It’s more team oriented and physical contact is never permitted. It uses most of the same skills as Hockey. For years, my nieces and their brothers did both.
Even with second hand equipment, hockey is expensive. My brother’s 4 kids were able to play because an older cousin would pass down his stuff as he out grew it.
There's a community outdoor rink that's always been in my small town. Every boy in my generation played ice hockey. There was no talk of girls playing ice hockey and I don't know of any girl of my generation expressing a desire to play ice hockey. The memory isn't completely clear but I think the girls might have played floor hockey in the school auditorium when I was in 6th grade.
The local rink is supposed to become a covered rink this year.
My guess would be that all boys still play hockey here. My nephews do but my nieces don't and I don't think there's enough interest in girls hockey to make a team.
This was my experience growing up in the 90s and early 2000s as well, although we did not have a community outdoor rink, but rather just an indoor one that was sort of a gathering/hangout spot for kids and adults from nearby small towns. Every boy played some form of hockey, be it club level, or just recreationally. After school, residential streets were always alive with kids and teenagers played street hockey. And yes, everyone can ice skate. I learned to skate around the same time I could walk properly -- around 2 years old.
I don't recall any girls back then really playing. Most were into figure skating/synchronized skating.
Outdoor rinks were never my favorite, as unless professionally done, the hard water could be tough on your skates. I had an extra, cheap pair that I used exclusively outdoors, as to not damage my $500 CCMs.
I have kept up with a lot of my friends from back in the day, and most still play, be it in men's leagues (beer league) or recreationally, including drop-in games, etc. Quite a number made it pro. Some NHL, most others in European leagues. Most who did are retired, but are still engaged with the sport in some fashion -- coaching, management, summer camps, etc.
It sounds crazy, I know, but yes, virtually all male Canadians play/can play hockey.
It sounds crazy, I know, but yes, virtually all male Canadians play/can play hockey.
not my experience, i don't play none of my close circle of friends do, I imagine large sectors of multicultural cities like Vancouver and Toronto are the same, lots of men who were not born here don't play, also my sons generation (mid 20s) sees many playing soccer over Hockey
not my experience, i don't play none of my close circle of friends do, I imagine large sectors of multicultural cities like Vancouver and Toronto are the same, lots of men who were not born here don't play, also my sons generation (mid 20s) sees many playing soccer over Hockey
For what it's worth, I'm Guyanese, grew up in Montreal. Not saying that all are playing competitive, just that pretty much everyone at least KNOWS how to play, including "minorities." Floor hockey was a common sport in PE/Gym class, for instance. The residential streets of Montreal are always full of kids playing street hockey, including in multicultural area. My Haitian friends knew how to play. Many didn't play competitive due to the sheer cost of it, and yes, many from other countries/backgrounds definitely chose soccer over hockey... But soccer is just that much more popular than any sport pretty much anywhere in the world outside of the US, so it comes as no surprise that people from different backgrounds prefer it.
I think hockey is more popular among ethnic/minority groups in Toronto than it is anywhere else in Canada. From my observation anyway.
Lights become visible at night: "At night, it's just beautiful and magical. It turns into this like, we call it the Harvard Gardens. It turns into this magical place, the kids want to leave the house and go outside and play."
As others have stated, actually playing hockey on ice while still very common, is rarer than playing street hockey or ball hockey in a gym.
Due to constraints with equipment and the (in)availability and unpredictability of ice surfaces.
I'd answer yes to the basic question, though the last time I played hockey on an outdoor rink for fun was about 10 years ago. The last time I played in a recreational game in an indoor arena was over 30 years ago.
I went ice skating multiple times last winter though.
Do elementary schools in Canada have their own rinks, or will build an outdoor rink once it starts snowing? Therefore making every kid play, and learn to skate automatically.
Do American schools set up shooting ranges and make firearms safety a mandatory credit to graduate?
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