To whom it may concern,

I have a love for our national sport hockey. I have been playing for 13 years now and been a referee for 4 years. I’ve refereed over 400 games between the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and North York Hockey League. Each year, as the players get older I see that there are more and more injuries due to physical contact. I don’t mind that there is body contact because it is part of the game. The part I disagree with is the fact that some players take advantage of it and go beyond the rules and play dirty. What classifies as being dirty in my eyes as an official, is that when someone deliberately hits someone from behind into the boards (checking from behind) of hits someone in the head (checking to the head).

As a player, from past experiences, I can tell who the dirty players are on the ice and I am scared to turn my back towards them when going towards the boards. ``A 1999 study of head injuries treated in the emergency room found that 18% Of sport-related injuries occurred while playing hockey, while 1 in 5 of these(21%) were head injuries``. People get severely hurt by breaking bones, getting concussions, or even being paralyzed. It hasn’t been taken seriously but once someone dies, it will be too late. Checking to the head is also dangerous. The sudden impact of an elbow or a shoulder directly to your head can cause brain damage or the accumulation on blood in your skull. Recently in one of my games, a player on my team got hit directly in the head with and elbow after he just finished shooting the puck. The force of the elbow was so hard that it broke his face cage and he got a cut on his chin. The player who hit him only received 10 minutes and my teammate was sent to the hospital. I love to sport as do many people across Canada; however people are scared to play as they get older due to the violence.

If it was more controlled it would be better, safer, faster and more enjoyable to play. How would you feel if your son was hurt and broke his neck due to a violent hit from behind and the person who did that to your son only gets a 3 game suspension? Knowing that you can change the future of the game but minimizing the number of injuries in a game or in a season wouldn’t you feel better? Think about all the kids in Canada that have the chance to get injured and all you’d have to do is relook the rules and make the penalties stricter so they will think twice about doing it again. For all the players, coaches and spectators involved in the Hockey Canada Programme, we thank you for keeping the game safe and fun.

Regards,

Sportsfan17