A sport becomes popular because it is accessible; hockey has always been Canada’s game because primarily because of its cold climate and our wealth of rinks. However, recently hockey has been becoming more and more of an exclusive sport for the rich. According to a confidential survey commissioned by Hockey Canada last year and obtained by The Globe and Mail, “the 1,300 parents surveyed had an average household
Companies like Tim Hortons have programs to support families unable to afford hockey for their kids.
income roughly 15 per cent higher than the national median. The majority listed their occupation as a professional, owner, executive or manager,” a reflection of hockey’s new white-collar base. As fewer kids are able to play hockey, the sample pool for the NHL and Team Canada will get smaller, and the overall quality of play will decrease. If only the rich play, and our national team is no longer as strong as it used to be, hockey’s popularity will decrease substantially. If the NHL and Hockey Canada want hockey to continue being Canada’s sport, they will have to stop the sport’s shift to exclusiveness. It can’t only be left to programs like Timbits Hockey to make it accessible, an investment into providing opportunities for kids that normally wouldn’t be able to afford it might be the only way to save hockey’s future in Canada.
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