Jasper’s a sports heavy town, with soccer, football, hockey, gymnastics and the rest. But, this winter, one Jasperite is hoping to add a new sport to the mix: broomball.
Much like hockey, broomball is played on an ice rink, but instead of wearing skates, players run around in their gym shoes, and instead of running after a puck, they run after a small ball, and instead of wielding a stick, they have brooms.
Now, these aren’t your typical brooms—they’re not made of twigs or plastic bristles—rather, they have a rubber triangle at their base that looks a bit like an ice scraper.
Beyond the change in equipment, and the consequent changes in strategy, the rules are exactly the same as those in ice hockey.
So, for most folks, it shouldn’t be too much of a learning curve, said Sean Prockter, who’s developing the league, with hopes of starting in mid-January.
Prockter played broomball for eight years before moving to Jasper and hasn’t been able to play since.
He said the nice thing about the sport, when played recreationally, is it’s just for fun.
“It’s supposed to be a social event. It’s not supposed to be competitive,” he said. “There’s usually people falling everywhere—you’ve got to expect at least a couple of falls.
“Once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun.”
So far Prockter has one team signed up and he’s convinced he can scrounge together his own team; he just needs two more to make a league, although he’d happily accept more.
Teams need at least 10 players, including one goalie and two women.
Prockter hopes to host games once a week at the Patricia Circle rink and to close out the season with a championship game at Pyramid Lake.
To cover the cost of referees and equipment, he is charging teams $200 to take part.
“If you have 10 players, that’s only $20 a person,” he said, encouraging anyone—whether they have experience or not—to get in touch.
To register a team or for more information, contact Prockter at [email protected].
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
