Hockey needs room to grow, NASC says
With fewer ice rinks in Oshawa after the removal of Children’s Arena, NASC Hockey president Bob Babin says he has no room to grow programming, which is seeing slight annual increases in registration.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
It’s a precious commodity in Oshawa, and the lack of it could be hurting some of the city’s local sports organizations.
Ice time: it’s what hockey players need to improve, it’s what teams need to practice, and it’s what organizations need to run tournaments. Without enough to go around, someone loses.
According to Bob Babin, chairman of Neighbourhood Association Sports Committee (NASC), there is just not enough to go around.
“I’m cramming up to 44 kids on the ice per hour…because of the fact that you’re clearly not provided the amount of ice that you actually require to run your program.”
Currently, NASC is allotted 69 hours of weekly ice time on city rinks, which is six more than the 63 it is entitled to based on registration numbers.
However, Babin says he’s still feeling the pinch, even more so now that the city removed ice from Children’s Arena, a contentious decision that was approved by council in 2015.
“That really has had, in my opinion, a significant impact on all the user groups,” he says.
However, according to Julie MacIsaac, Oshawa’s director of recreation and culture services, the city has actually seen a decrease in ice utilization over the last three years.
This could be due in part due to lower registration numbers, she says.
“We analyze registration data on an annual basis and the registration data has really shown a decline between 2010 and 2014,” she says,
MacIsaac also points out that each user group is currently getting more ice than they are entitled to based on their numbers.
For Babin, he says despite what the city’s numbers show, NASC numbers have been increasing. In his 15 years as president, NASC has grown from just over 500 kids to 1,100, growing between five and seven per cent every year.
The program has been such a success that Hockey Canada awarded the organization with the Bauer First Shift program, an initiative that introduces young kids to hockey by outfitting them with all the gear needed and proper lessons for $149.
Last year, during the single event NASC held, 42 of the 45 kids who took part went on to register for a full season of hockey.
The event was so successful that Hockey Canada has provided resources for NASC to host two First Shift events this season.
“We provide a very, very valuable service to the City of Oshawa and, unfortunately, I still don’t feel strongly that we’re given the respect we deserve,” he says.
As much of an inconvenience it is dealing with limited ice, Babin says the more important issue is that these programs have no room to grow.
“I can’t really do more than I already am,” he says. “Even if I start to grow the program, I’m stuck because I don’t have any ice to grow into.”
For the current year, the city’s ice matrix, which details the allotted hours for each group, is already finalized. According to MacIsaac, meetings take place in November and February to determine the needed ice for the coming year, following which one-on-one meetings take place throughout the season.
Those looking to register for NASC hockey can do so the weekend of Sept. 9 and 10 at Valleyview Community Centre.
More information can also be found at www.naschockeyoshawa.org.