From Helsinki to Hay River, NWT, a pond hockey tournament with a global goal
It’s an inspiring scene: in Helsinki, nine different four-on-four hockey matches are played on an ice rink the size of a football field.
The sounds echo on a cold, sunny morning: the click of a puck, the turning of skaters. From the top of the snow mountain caused by the recent storm, you can see all the action. This is the Save Pond Hockey tournament, one of several in Finland this season.
Founded in 2015, the Save Pond Hockey concept sees its breakthrough in Canada this year in partnership with the Polar Pond Hockey Tournament in Hay River, NWT, in the finals on Sunday, March 13th. The Canadian organization, like its Finnish counterpart, aims to raise money and awareness to fight climate change. Save Pond Hockey was already some kind of Canadian-Finnish joint venture; The founders are Svante Suominen Suomalainen and Steve Baynes from Vancouver.
In 2011, Suominen was a university student in Helsinki. He had played competing hockey as a teenager, but eventually quit. He wanted to train and now mobilizes a few guys to play shine on the outdoor track.
“I started inviting all my friends and friends of my friends,” he said. “We went every Monday night, and I realized there were more people coming all the time.”
He calls it “a new beginning for my relationship with hockey.” He enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of a pond puck – in the term any informal outdoor puck, whether it’s a lake or not.
“We had so many different people playing together,” he said. “There was something really magical about it.”
At present, his grandfather Baynes arrived in Helsinki in 2012 after studying development in Jyväskylä in Central Finland for two years. A former classmate invited him to Monday’s games.
Players discussed how climate change shortened the outdoor hockey season. Baynes had studied climate issues, and some others were interested. Many remembered the longer, colder winters of their childhood – it seemed obvious that winter was changing.
They began to think about how hockey players could help fight climate change. The result came in 2015, when the first Save Pond Hockey tournament was held in Helsinki, the aim of which was to raise noise from climate issues.
The number of entrants has since multiplied and tournaments have been hosted in nine cities across the country. In 2022, the Helsinki version had 39 teams in three series: casual, competition and company.
Tournament winnings, totaling more than $ 101,000 since 2015, will go to organizations fighting climate change – everything from carbon offsets to wetland restoration projects.
To attract spectators and increase climate awareness, each Save Pond Hockey tournament begins with an exhibition game featuring hockey heroes such as former NHL players and stars from the women’s and men’s national teams. Niklas Hagman and Esa Tikkanen played in Helsinki this year and others have included Jari Kurri and Saku Koivu. The staff of the Canadian Embassy has also participated in the exhibition games.
President Sauli Niinistö has participated on several occasions. In February 2012, shortly after his first term of office, he went skating on a trough where Suominen and his friends played their weekly shinnya.
“I thought what, is it the president?” said Suominen. “I just went and asked, ‘Hey, Mr. President, would you like to join our game?’ ‘He said,’ Okay. Let’s play. ‘”
When Save Pond Hockey held their first tournament, Suominen called Niinistö and reminded them that they had played together. “I love living in a country and a city where it is possible,” Suominen said.
Baynes often refers to Save Pond Hockey as a movement. “Everyone is welcome out to play,” he said.
Päivi Antila has been a regular at Save Pond Hockey’s Monday sessions since she happened to join in their game last winter. “They’re a friendly gang,” he said. “They’re consciously trying to make people feel welcome.”
He had seen them once at climate demonstrations, waving signs attached to hockey sticks, of course.
The other player is Paul Mélois, whose mother is from Montreal and his father is French. He grew up in the south of France, but remembers his ice skating outdoors during his family’s visits to Canada.
One evening in January, Mélois was found to be helping Baynes clear an ice rink next to the Finnish capital. Most of Helsinki’s outdoor fields are artificially cooled, but during the long frost season, experts dare to make a completely natural playing surface.
After hours of shoveling, scraping and flooding, they finished the field in the wee hours of the morning. About 20 friends came to play the next afternoon. – I could barely play because I was so sore [from the shovelling]”Baynes said,” but it was still a lot of fun. “
People crossing the nearby footbridge got great views. Within a few days the temperature fluctuated and the opportunity to play on natural ice was over. “These windows used to be much bigger,” Baynes said.
Hay River, NWT, the first place in Canada to host a Save Pond Hockey tournament, rarely faces such challenges. The city hosted Polar Pond Hockey for the first time in 2008, but one year, 2019, was exceptionally warm, 13 degrees in March. “We had to cancel the incident,” said Terry Rowe, director of Polar Pond Hockey, “which was obvious. [due to] some kind of climate change. ”This year, she expects about 35 teams, ten of which will be in the women’s series.
Save Pond Hockey and Hay River were merged through the Canadian Climate and Sports Initiative, which took applications from Canadian cities that wanted to host Save Pond Hockey events. Penticton, BC and Stonewall, Man., Were also scheduled for this winter, but had to cancel due to COVID-19 restrictions.
For Polar Pond Hockey Adding Save Pond Hockey to an event means emphasizing the climate. Proceeds from the auction and the Climate Change and Energy Fair will help Hay River buy e-Zambon.
Just like their Finnish colleagues, they are organizing an all-star game of the exhibition to raise awareness. The list includes Meghan Agosta, Craig MacTavish, Andrew Ference and Curtis Glencross as well as locally known players.
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