There’s a new sports option in town for children and teens.
The recently-formed Sault Ball Hockey League (SBHL) will hold the first event of its inaugural season beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday May 3 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
The league will then meet for all of its following games each Saturday at the John Rhodes Community Centre until early July.
“To date we have over 300 youth, male and female, ages three to 16 registered and counting. There has been an excellent response,” Steve Ryan, SBHL convenor told SooToday.
The league will operate under the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF).
There are roughly 80 children from three to six years old learning to play on Saturday, May 3 from 8 to 11 a.m., Ryan said.
"Then there’ll be three hours for seven and eight-year olds. We’ll have two hours for nine and 10-year-olds. And then we have a division which is a little bit larger, 11 to 14-year-olds for the last two hours. We're still looking for 15 and 16-year-olds to fill things up,” Ryan said.
Children and teens are required to bring their own hockey sticks, helmets, face protection, hockey gloves and shin guards. An athletic cup, elbow pads and knee pads are highly recommended.
Jerseys are provided.
“We’ll break it into small areas for the little guys, like a half court. For the older age groups it’s the entire floor and it gets going right off the hop. They'll be getting their jerseys and splitting up into teams the first day. It’ll be pretty exciting,” Ryan said.
Sault Ball Hockey League players will play one game per week. In total, the youth program offers 10 games including playoffs. The season will continue until late June.
In July older children on the Provincial Representative Team will compete in the OBHF Provincial Tournament against other cities across the province. That tournament usually takes place in early to mid-July. There are no practices in the new league but players selected for the Provincial Championship Representative teams will have practices as scheduled by their coaches.
“If there's enough interest, we could send teams to the championship. It’s not for the youngest children but the older groups play in the provincial championships. It depends on the interest. The championships are down south and to ask families to go down there in our first season is short notice at this point,” Ryan said.
He’s hoping that will change as time goes by.
“As they get into it they'll select a group to go down for championship weekends and it's a very good weekend,” Ryan said.
“Ball hockey is a cheaper option than ice hockey because a lot of families can't afford the commitment to ice hockey with the cost of skates and everything else. This offers another alternative,” Ryan said.
The cost for the Learn to Play program for children three to six years old is $169 and $229 for older players.
The SBHL is still looking for coaches, referees, time keepers and volunteers to do administrative work.
All coaches must have a proper Vulnerable Sector Check completed with documentation.
Those interested in volunteering their time with the league, being a sponsor and all other information can be found on the SBHL website.