In 1994, Ball Hockey in the Province of Ontario was mostly played by men between the ages of 20-40 who had the desire to compete indoors in arena’s from June to August. The season was short and tended to encourage only the more competitive players. Outdoor ball hockey was in its infancy in the Niagara region with smaller single rink facilities being built in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls in the previous few years. Vytas Daraska would pioneer the game in St. Catharines while others would build outdoor rinks throughout Quebec and the northern United States.
Lot’s has happened through these first 15 years and this is meant to be a place for those memories. If reading this sparks some good memories, send them in to brianb@ballhockey.com and we will add them to the story.
A road trip to Baltimore Maryland ( that is a much longer story ) saw the creation of the Barrie Ball Hockey club as the inspiration of Brian Broley & Tom Roberts. Construction began in the Summer of 1994 and the first event held at the facility was a cash tournament on the August 24th, 1994 weekend. 16 teams competed in the weekend long event with 12 teams travelling up from the Niagara region to try out the new rink in Barrie. The Fall 1994 season was the first outdoor ball hockey season in Central Ontario and 26 teams of Women, Men and youth got the Barrie Ball Hockey Club up and running. Mike Allen started as a goaltender on a team that first season and Greg Elmes would be one of the key players on an individual team. Officials such as Tim Shaughnessy, Ken Bannerman, Claude Chapados and John Wolford gave us instant credibility with quality officiating. People like Jim Lowe, Ellen Loder, Andrea Lauder, Bill & Cheryl Bowen, Neil Green, Pete Forshaw, Kim Tracy, Kerry Blackmore, Chris Edwards, Ken Laver, Bill Burke, Mauro Mansato, and many, many more played in that first season and got the passion to help us grow by bringing their friends and spreading the word. 426 people played in our inaugural season that year and one of those teams called the Blasters continues to play in 2009 in our Over 35 division.
In those early years, Bill Burke and Mauro Manzato’s Islanders would dominate the Men’s “A” division with Kempenfelt Graphics and a bunch of quality hockey players from Alcona challenging them each season. Shawn Payne, John Primavera and the rest of the Alcona Boys would win a cash tournament in 1997 and none of the cash made it home as they celebrated their victory that night. Families like the Hagen’s, Pritchard’s, Williams, Gates, McGuires would quickly become part of the fabric of the club as family members played, acted as officials, got involved in running the club and generally found the Barrie Ball Hockey Club a good place to hang out. In 2002, The BBHC would host a wedding on its central blue rink as two families celebrated their new relationship at the place they met.
Ball Hockey Ontario was formed that first Summer as well, with a vision to develop the sport across the Province through a network of outdoor rinks in many communities. 1995 saw the creation of www.ballhockey.com as the communication hub for the outdoor sport. It continues to be a major destination for most ball hockey enthusiasts and is the # 1 result when searching for a ball hockey website.
Ball Hockey Ontario and the Barrie Ball Hockey Club hosted the first ever Outdoor Provincial Ball Hockey Championships with a Women’s and two Men’s events in 1996. The Wizards from St. Catharines would dominate this event in its early years as teams from across Ontario came to Barrie to challenge the best of the outdoor players. The Montreal Red Light travelled into Barrie in 1999 to sweep through the Provincial Tournament and give the outdoor game a glimpse into the future. They would roll through the National Canadian Indoor Mens “A” Championships with seven straight Canadian Titles from 2001 to 2007.
The Barrie Ball Hockey Club expanded to two rinks in 1999 with new friendships developing as complete families began playing and hanging out at the club. Players learned to become officials, Officials began playing the game, Womens leagues took off and the newly formed Co-Ed activity blossomed at both a competitive and recreational level of play as friends and family came out to enjoy outdoor sports and spend some quality time together. The National Freight team would become the dominant team in the late 90’s and would carry the torch for the host Barrie club into the Over 35 Provincials in the 2000’s winning three Provincial Championships along the way. David Britnell & Rob Leduc would quarterback the National teams at both the club and tournament level.
With continued growth in the Sport in the Simcoe County region, the Barrie Ball Hockey Club expanded once again in 2003 adding two more rinks, a 4,000 square foot clubhouse and with the increased traffic, paved the parking lot. The two additional rinks allowed the club to grow and in the Spring of 2004, 700 new club members joined growing the number of teams by 70 over the prior year. More Co-ed leagues started up as players chose to come out and enjoy the sport with friends. It continued to rain in the Summer and snow in the Winter, but more people found that playing outside in the various elements was much more fun that sitting inside watching TV. The Provincials that year would see the craziest weather ever, with Snow, Rain, Sunshine and Wind all playing a part in the final outcome.
The signature outdoor ball hockey Championships have exploded through the past few years and it is now called the World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships. Teams travel each year from all over North America including San Diego, Vancouver, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Montreal to join all sorts of Ontario teams in one of the most fun, competitive tournaments in existence. This event grew to five divisions and 70 teams from across North America in its 13th year in 2008 and has now outgrown the Barrie Ball Hockey Club’s four rinks. Players from the Niagara region like Brian & Pat Henderson, Goalie Matt Belson, Jeff Sanderson and Dan Riga would accumulate a number of Provincial jackets over the years. The Toronto Leafs would become the dominant Mens “A” Team, while the Niagara region would continue to send quality teams with the Welland Young Guns winning back to back Mens B titles in 2007 & 2008, The Rectangle Auto Supply team from St Catharines would win three straight Womens titles in 2005, 2006 & 2007 and the remnants of the old Wizards would dominate the Over 35 Men for a number of years.
Expansion has finally taken hold with the Hamilton South Ball Hockey Club opening in late 2007 on Upper James Street on the “Mountain”. The Niagara Ball Hockey Club followed in the Summer of 2008 as a partnership with Vytas Daraska saw a second rink added to his location in St. Catharines and finally the Brampton Ball Hockey Club on Kennedy Road was opened in late 2008. These clubs are thriving in the early stages as each community comes to realize the benefits and enjoyment of outdoor ball hockey.
The World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships in 2009 will be expanded to include youth and Co-Ed divisions and for the first time, it will take three locations to get the activity played. The Brampton Ball Hockey Club will host the Youth Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships on August 21-23, 2009. The Niagara Ball Hockey Club in St. Catharines will host the Women playing in the A & B Divisions and will host the first ever Co-Ed Championship on the weekend of September 25-27, 2009. The Barrie Ball Hockey Club will complete the triple play on October 2-4, 2009 hosting the Men’s A, B and Over 35 Divisions.
We continue to expand ……….. The exciting and affordable hockey experience ………. Outdoor ball hockey. |
