Pond Hockey Championships

Probably the greatest athletic endeavour on the planet. Pond hockey has taken on a whole new meaning in the last couple of years as international, national and state tournaments seem to be ever increasing in popularity. Next week marks the start of this year's World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick where you can "be the world champion of your childhood dreams".

The tournament, moving into it's 6th year, features more than a 100 teams from every province in Canada, 35 states and 15 different countries. Over 8000 people are expected to make the trek to Plaster Rock (pop. 1,150) this year to see the event.

Besides the World Championships there is the US Pond Hockey Championships held each year in Minnesota. This year's tournament took place just a couple of weeks ago with 160 teams vying for the coveted Golden Shovel. (Some great footage from the event is found below.)

There is also the Canadian Pond Hockey Championships currently being held in Muskoka, Ontario. Nearly 150 teams are competing in this years event trying to bring home the Maple Cup. (Wooden trophies in the likeness of the Stanley and Grey Cups made of maple.)

If you can't make it to the big events then there are more than enough other tournaments in places like Lake Placid, Maine, Wisconsin, Colorado, the UP, pretty much every province in Canada, and well...the list is long since new competitions seems to spring up every year. Their popularity as such has even prompted a documentary film simply entitled Pond Hockey. The film, which will be released later this year, is described so: "More than just a celebration of a beloved game, Pond Hockey searches the open ice for the true meaning of sport." The trailer is up on their site via the link above.

The NHL, in conjunction with the Winter Classic, also wrote a nice piece on the growing trend of pond hockey tournaments here and how they are thriving. As did Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, ESPN...

Why have they become so popular? Why not? Heated beer tents, hockey in a friendly competitive way, like minded people, small trophies that look like the Stanley Cup....how the heck could that not be popular. Did I mention rinkside heated beer tents? I don't think I could imagine a better weekend.

Below is some footage from the US Championships which have now concluded for the year. It includes the greatest description of what a hockey player is that I have ever heard....and Phil Housley.