“Rising youth hockey fees are not fair to the hockey society, it leaves youth excluded from playing hockey”
(Gretzky, W, 2018)
As hockey continues to grow via social media, television and through ticket sales, it is surprising to see hockey registration numbers declining among youth (Hyman, Mark, 2012). Why are youth starting to register for other sports?
Hockey is expensive. With youth hockey registration fees increasing, hockey is becoming an exclusive sport, available to only those who can afford to play. The average cost of playing hockey in North America in 2012 was $8,000 a year per child (Hyman, Mark, 2012). This leaves many youths excluded.
Within the game, additional advantages accrue to players who come from upper-class families. These advantages include private hockey sessions with top tier coaches, exclusive video meetings with professional video coaches, or attending elite private schools with an exclusive hockey program. Private hockey schools offer enhanced coaching and elevated exposure from collegiate and professional scouts (Decosse & Norcliffe, 2019). These schools have started to become a norm for the highly competitive and privileged hockey players looking to succeed in their sport This trend leaves youth who can afford to play hockey but cannot afford to access these additional supports at a disadvantage.
As a Canadian citizen, I am proud of hockey’s unification and popularity in our nation’s culture. It is disappointing to see hockey, a sport that is deeply ingrained in Canadian culture, becoming an exclusive sport for youth. A large number of parents feel the Canadian government should monitor and manage registration fees for youth hockey clubs and create subsidized programs which would allow more youth to play hockey.
Fortunately, non-profit organizations and donations from professional players are helping decrease disparting, helping more than 540,000 kids across Canada play hockey. These non-profit organizations, such as Jumpstart, often cover registration fees, new equipment, and other expenses, giving youth the chance to play hockey (Elson et al., 2020).
References:
Dufur, M., Leppard, T., Shafer, K., & Jarvis, J. (2021). NHL Data. ScholarsArchive Data. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/data/20/
Gretzky, W., (2018) Youtube: Gretzky on the high costs of playing hockey.
Hyman, M. (2012). The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today’s Families. In Google Books. Beacon Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bb5vDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=youth+hockey+expenses&ots=OZKzCO0XIq&sig=7RrK7-TP78_bOGAWEfj1vwEA414#v=onepage&q=h&f=false
Robidoux, M. A. (2002). Imagining a Canadian Identity through Sport: A Historical Interpretation of Lacrosse and Hockey. The Journal of American Folklore, 115(456), 209. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4129220?origin=crossref#metadata_info_tab_contents
Elson, P., Lefèvre, S., & Fontan, J.-M. (2020). PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS IN CANADA LANDSCAPES, INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES AND PATHWAYS TO CHANGE. https://philab.uqam.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Philanthropic-Foundations-in-Canada-Landscapes-Indigenous-perspectives-and-pathways-to-change-1.pdf#page=108
Decosse, S., & Norcliffe, G. (2019). Regional restructuring of industrial sport: The case of elite hockey player production in British Columbia. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe Canadien, 64(1), 120–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12569
