Out at Langley Sportsplex, hockey is changing.
When COVID-19 hit, sports leagues entered a tail-spin as seasons got cancelled and uncertainty loomed. Despite B.C.’s flattened curve, some players don’t plan to return to team sports.
Others, however, long to connect with people in a social-distancing world. It’s in these shifting sands that sports teams need to rebuild. Some are struggling to do so, but, for the couple behind Langley’s new , it’s been an opportunity to rethink recreational team sports.
Ian and Klara Bemister aren’t your typical young parents. He’s a busy owner-operator for a popular handyman company, Odd Jobs Are Us Inc., and she’s a mom with her Master’s in Sports Management. When they heard ice time was available in Langley Sportsplex’s four rinks, Klara’s mind started churning and soon she’d thought of a new way to organize recreational ice hockey.
After years of managing successful teams at Burnaby 8 Rinks, Ian immediately clicked with his wife’s vision. Now, together, they’re managing the fledgling league that already has dozens of regular players just weeks into operating.“We are a functioning little baby hockey league,” Ian says, “but we want more players.”
With the pandemic making the immediate future uncertain, Insiders Hockey is designed to be an open, inclusive hockey league where players of all skill levels suit up – men and women – as often or as infrequently as anyone’s schedules allow.
Traditionally, a player joins a team and plays once a week. If they love the game, they join a few teams and play multiple games weekly. But that weekly commitment model also means many get left out in the cold – shift workers, people with unpredictable schedules over the long haul, single parents – anyone who can’t make a steady, long-term commitment to a particular practice and game schedule.
That’s where Insiders Hockey differs. Their pay-to-play flexible schedule makes participating in team hockey doable for anyone. At $30 a game, players choose which games they want to participate in.
Photo provided by Insiders Hockey League.
So far, each team has a core group of players alongside a drop-in player or two for each game. While early joiners have been avid fans of the sport, comfortable with puck skills and speedy on the ice, the league is open to all comers.
Another way Insiders differs is there’s no ego or bravado allowed. As Ian explains, “Exercise and friendship is what we’re selling. Aggression and fighting have been traditional in hockey, but [Insiders Hockey] doesn’t allow that. We’re friendly, welcoming, and we don’t allow smack-talk, fighting. We’re a respectful league who respects the ref, respects each other, and respects our opponents.”
To that end, while all skill levels play together now, Ian and Klara want to build membership and have players on teams suited to their skill levels, so everyone plays within their comfort zone.
Skill rankings, level 1 through 10, are explained on the Insiders’ website. One includes those new to hockey, and two is for those new to hockey and playing at a slower pace. A four dominates at the lowest level of hockey, while sixes control the game at mid-level, and a ten is an ex-pro.
As proof that time flies while having fun, the league’s first playoff series already looms. Time’s tight, but for keeners with time to burn, there’s still time to get into the playoff action on August 15th.
For others who just want the promise of hockey, the summer season’s end means little, because winter hockey kicks off August 16th – with the same price, same flexibility, and same fun.
Games played before August 15th count toward summer’s stats, so if you’re rusty, get out there and shake it off before your fresh slate rolls in on August 16th with the winter season.
While Insiders is playing five-on-five hockey, COVID-19 regulations limit each bench to nine players per game – eight combined for the ice, plus a goalie. Games are three 10-minute stop time periods, plus a five-minute run clock and overtime guaranteed.
No one knows how long things will be changed for under the COVID-19 realities but, for the time being, the Zamboni is running, the puck’s getting dropped, and the game is on for anyone looking to get out there for some exercise, friendship, and a little good-natured competition.
