Bodychecking will remain in the game for Vancouvers rep peewee hockey players but will be debated again this summer and potentially eliminated following B.C. Hockeys annual general meeting.
Bodychecking will be eliminated from all house hockey games in the Lower Mainland. It is already banned in most B.C. regional recreational leagues.
On Sunday, the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association voted 123 in favour and 39 opposed to eliminating bodychecking in house leagues. The ban does not extend to peewee rep hockey.
The new rules take effect at the start of the 2012-13 season. The minor hockey association represents 42 leagues and nearly 20,000 youth players from Hope to the Sunshine Coast to Seattle, including the Vancouver Minor Hockey Association and Vancouver Thunderbirds.
The unprecedented, mid-season meeting was called in October in an attempt to prevent serious injury and concussion. A November report cited evidence that indicates introducing hitting at peewee comes with a higher risk of injury than when the skill is introduced at bantam.
Vancouver Minor president Lily Williams said she was surprised and pleased by the overwhelming support to ban bodychecking from house hockey.
The vote was especially swayed that way, she said. Our membership was going that way and thats how we voted.
Vancouver Minor was allocated three ballots. Before the vote, Williams canvassed her leagues 617 member families. Roughly one third of the surveys were returned and many came from parents of the youngest players.
Making hockey safe and enjoyable is the priority, she said.
Im glad everyone is doing that first. How many kids are really going to make it to the big show?
The Presidents League is a C hockey division for recreational players from peewee to juvenile that allows them the choice of bodychecking or non-bodychecking teams. That choice will be eliminated when the bodychecking ban takes effect.
Williams suggested more rep teams can be introduced for players who want the added physicality.
Not everyone will make it to playoffs or provincials, but every association can work something out. That is a possibility but based on ice availability [] in Vancouver we have a big challenge ahead of us because we dont have that ability unless you build more rinks.
Twitter: @MHStewart
