Pond Hockey League

[jah713 0]

I'm currently working on a survey and a proposal to the company that I work for in Philadelphia to use our rink for a Pond Hockey League after hours.

We're the only outdoor rink in the area. We have a pretty high traffic for public skating but currently after 9 on weekdays we do nothing with our ice time. I have been working on getting ice hockey at the rink for a long time but due to the type of boards we have and a lack of glass, a real league is out of the question for adults. However, we play pond hockey on it pretty regularly and it's a good time. It's something different and something that I think that a lot more people would enjoy if they had the chance to par take in it.

My question to everyone on the forum is:

If there were a pond hockey league in your area, would you be interested in playing in it?

Pond hockey for those that don't know is pretty much the following:

4 on 4 hockey. Limited pads because of the environment. The only real requirement would be a helmet, gloves and shin pads. The puck never gets elevated so there's not much to worry about and it is significantly more relaxed than a typical men's league game. The nets are either boxes or actual nets in the same shape. They are four foot long. On each end is a 12" long and 6" high opening. So basically, the only way to score is keeping the puck on the ice. If it gets shot off of the ground it has a very slim chance of making it into the net.

So again, who would be interested in playing in a league like this? I'm working on a survey that I hope I can get out to local rinks and to anyone who would be interested in filling it out to find the best way to propose this idea and to get the best turn out for the league.

Thank you.

[Hawkeye 0]

I'm currently working on a survey and a proposal to the company that I work for in Philadelphia to use our rink for a Pond Hockey League after hours.

We're the only outdoor rink in the area. We have a pretty high traffic for public skating but currently after 9 on weekdays we do nothing with our ice time. I have been working on getting ice hockey at the rink for a long time but due to the type of boards we have and a lack of glass, a real league is out of the question for adults. However, we play pond hockey on it pretty regularly and it's a good time. It's something different and something that I think that a lot more people would enjoy if they had the chance to par take in it.

My question to everyone on the forum is:

If there were a pond hockey league in your area, would you be interested in playing in it?

Pond hockey for those that don't know is pretty much the following:

4 on 4 hockey. Limited pads because of the environment. The only real requirement would be a helmet, gloves and shin pads. The puck never gets elevated so there's not much to worry about and it is significantly more relaxed than a typical men's league game. The nets are either boxes or actual nets in the same shape. They are four foot long. On each end is a 12" long and 6" high opening. So basically, the only way to score is keeping the puck on the ice. If it gets shot off of the ground it has a very slim chance of making it into the net.

So again, who would be interested in playing in a league like this? I'm working on a survey that I hope I can get out to local rinks and to anyone who would be interested in filling it out to find the best way to propose this idea and to get the best turn out for the league.

Thank you.

I doubt it highly.

I play in the Eagle River tourney every year and besides for the comradery and beer drinking the hockey is pretty dreadful. The ice can never be maintained and it just wrecks your skates. Indoor is much more fun.

[jah713 0]

The rink that I work at is outdoor seasonally anyway. The ice is pretty decent. We play on it 4-5 nights a week as it is. All I am working at now is creating a league out of it essentially.

[raganblink 82]

Same with the other guy. Is rather pay hell even 20 bucks per game indoor than pond for free. maybe if you had a drop in kind of thing for an hour or so then you'd probably get people to come but free and then maybe after a year or so have a league from if there is interest.

[Tubesteak 1]

I love pond hockey. I have a rink in my backyard, a fire pit, and plenty of Jameson. I play a couple of times a week for free at an outdoor rink close to my house as well with whoever shows up... nice mix of older guys and their kids. That being said I don't think I'd be into a pond hockey "league". To me, "pond hockey" and "league" just don't belong in the same sentence. Kinda like turning backyard football on Thanksgiving at the elementary school field into a 8 team round robin. It's the goofing around factor that makes it fun. Not that it still wouldn't be fun...just different.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

I'd play in a league like that.

Around here the beer league fees break down to about $23/game. If there was a pond hockey league where I could play with 4-6 of my friends for $10-15/game, I'm in.

I can't say for certain what the interest might be in your area, but you already said you aren't using the ice after 9:00 or so. What have you got to lose? Put out some feelers and find enough teams for an inaugural season. If, at the end of the season, you don't think it's worth the effort, fold the league and you're done. No shame in trying.

Option #2: If you want to gauge interest, set up a weekend tournament. It's a one time deal and at the end players are going to say, "I'd play in a league here" or "This tourney sucked." Either way you have an answer. You might even end up with enough interested teams to start the league by Monday.

[Chadd 916]

Pond hockey is unorganized by it's very nature, so a pond hockey league is something of an oxymoron. Here are a couple thoughts:

1. Does your current insurance cover hockey and/or leagues?

2. As soon as you make it a league, people will take it too seriously and someone will go too far

2A. What is your plan for handling those people?

3. Who will be responsible for keeping games under control? While there are no refs in pond hockey, who will enforce rules and penalties?

4. You can't limit the pads that the players wear, doing so puts you in a very bad position if someone gets hurt.

My suggestion is to run it as a regular pickup or open hockey session unless you regularly have too many people to rotate people in and out reasonably. You could easily run multiple sessions a night and have people call in to reserve for particular sessions (paid in advance). Making it an "official" league brings a lot of additional potential legal issues that you must be prepared to handle.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

1. Does your current insurance cover hockey and/or leagues?

EXTREMELY valid point I didn't consider.

The rest of my post stands if you're covered.

[jah713 0]

That's where most of the issues come in. I don't think I'd be able to do it on a pick up basis because it would need to generate enough revenue to cover insurance. That's essentially the biggest reason I would have to make it organized to guarantee at least enough to cover the costs of the insurance and the work that needs to be done to the boards and perimeter of the rink.

I do understand the potential risks of starting a league with people getting out of hand and such. We would have referees to watch over the games. It would have some sense of official-ness. We had a little bit of a league with employees two years ago and it did get a little bit out of hand with competition. But there were not established rules and people challenged the ones that were established (which wasn't much since it was a league among friends).

I wouldn't limit what people could wear by any means. I would merely state the necessities and say that the rest are up to the individual.

One of the biggest positives about our rink is the ambiance. It's on the river, it's outside and provides experiences that people just can't get around here and that is what would be the main selling points of the league. Playing ice hockey outdoors in a game that's not quite as uptight as men's leagues. For people in the Philadelphia area, at least these past few years, there is nowhere else to play ice hockey outside. Not on anything close to a full rink. The best we have is people that put small rinks in there yards. And for those of you who have played outside, you know that there's nothing like it. Playing a game in the snow is just how the game was meant to be played. It's incredible.

[dw91 0]

The insurance thing would be the only trouble, I would think. And I agree with the above posters, pond hockey should be spontaneous, unorganized, and free, if possible. Its a shame there's not more interest in playing the game outdoors at a recreational level. I spent half the winter skating on a lagoon in the middle of my city alone, and drew quite a few puzzled looks from passerby, as if I was out of my mind or something, haha. Central Illinois people don't seem to share my infatuation with hockey.

[McDugan 89]

If you can get this going, I'm in the philly area and tying to get back into the game of hockey for the first time since I was 11 yrs. old. This sounds like a lot of fun and I'd be interested in playing.

Are you talking about the rink at Penn's Landing?