Town hosting broomball tournament this weekend
Al Lees

FBAO Board of Directors

The new double pad Innisfil Recreation Complex, along with the Stroud Arena, will play host to the 2008 Ontario Junior Broomball Provincial Championships on Friday February 8th, Saturday February 9th and Sunday February 10th.

Broomball was invented in Canada in the early 1900s. Over 100 years has passed and the sport is still alive and growing in a renewed interest by the young athletes. This coming weekend, broomball fans and parents, along with those new to the sport, will have the opportunity to watch the best young broomball players when they travel to Innisfil for the 2008 Junior Provincials.

The Federation of Broomball Associations of Ontario (FBAO) has been hosting the Junior Championships in Innisfil annually since 1994. This event is the highlight of the year for all those young athletes including the hometown Innisfil teams.

The Provincial Championship will be the first major event or tournament to be hosted at the new IRC facility, which is still under construction. The Red rink has been open since late fall with the new Gold rink opening last weekend. The Innisfil recreation staff has been working in close cooperation with the broomball organizers to ensure the event will run smoothly.

The championship kicks off at noon on Friday at all three ice surfaces, with games continuing until midnight. Games on the Red rink will finish early on Friday night allowing the Innisfil Lakers junior hockey team to play a scheduled home game. Play continues at all three surfaces at 6 a.m. on Saturday and continues to midnight. The semi-finals and finals for each division wrap up on Sunday at the IRC.

The sounds of hockey players' skates cutting along the ice, with pucks being shot on net with hockey sticks will instead be replaced with broomball players running on the ice using special sponge rubber broomball shoes for traction, and shooting an eight inch ball with a moulded rubber head broom into a larger sized net. The broomball nets are five by seven feet, which creates a larger target than hockey, and also provides a challenge for those small Peewee division goalies.

The rules of broomball are very similar to hockey except the red line is used for icings and off-sides, which creates a larger offensive zone. The player's movement on the ice depends on how fast they can run and maneuver on the ice. There is no gliding in broomball, as you are otherwise standing still.

A total of 68 teams will be competing in seven divisions with Co-Ed Peewee, Bantam girls and boys, Midget girls and boys, and Juvenile girls and boys. Teams will be travelling from across the province to attend this event, with teams as far away as the Windsor and Ottawa areas. Other areas being represented include Mildmay, Blyth, Seaforth, Palmerston, Cannington and the local Innisfil entries. There are 126 games scheduled, so take in some of the action during the weekend with no admission charge in place.

Innisfil will be represented by four teams including two Peewee entries being the Innisfil Tigers and the Innisfil Terminators; the Bantam Boys Innisfil Invaders team; and the Midget Boys Innisfil Whatevers team. Both the Bantam and Midget Innisfil entries are co-ed.

The sport has grown in popularity in part due to the much more affordable costs compared to hockey, which allows single parents and those parents with constrained budgets an opportunity to have their children participate in physically active sport. Sportsmanship is learned, and new friendships are created that will last a lifetime. The games are always entertaining with some coaches stressing the need to keep the sport fun for the players; yet ultimately attempting to win the championship.

Admission to any or all of these games is free. The broomball organizers encourage the public to come out and enjoy one of Canada's best kept secrets.