In the frost-nipped air of Newfoundland and Labrador, a time-honored tradition on the amateur hockey rink has been ceremoniously shelved. Hockey NL, which oversees the province’s love affair with the puck and the ice, cast a ripple across the surface of camaraderie by bidding farewell to the post-game handshake.
This edict, making its presence known through a notice on the organization’s digital portal, etches a new chapter in how young gladiators of the sport will close their frosty battles. Gonzo Bennett, a name synonymous with stewardship in Hockey NL’s corridors, penned the decree with a tone of finality and reform, citing a string of incidents that birthed suspensions of players and mentors alike – a consequence of the passionate clasp of hands turned awry.
“The handshake, once a symbol of good sportsmanship, has become a breaking point for contention rather than a bridge for athletes’ mutual respect,” Bennett conveyed in the wake of the decision.
The new ritual, now devoid of the warm grasp of competing hands, ushers the combatants off the rink straight into the sanctuary of their respective dressing rooms post bellum. A prelude to combat offers a glimmer of the old ways: at the game’s onset, visiting contenders will glide past the home bench, exchanging a tap of the gloves – a testament to the spirit of the encounter they are about to embark on.
Curiously, the directive emerges amidst the backdrop of a broiling conversation about the comportment of those who give life to these arenas – the coaches, the guardians, and the youthful athletes themselves. Incidents distressing enough to engage the involvement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police cloud this dialogue, such as a Nova Scotian mentor recently ensnared by an accusation of assaulting an official, with the shadow of such actions lingering over players as young as nine.
Response to this escalating concern has been imaginative; in an initiative reminiscent of a knight donning a crest of courage, adolescent arbiters of the rink have taken to wearing green armbands – a signal for those who spectate to hold their tongues and check the surge of their emotions.
The murmurs of dissatisfaction and the call for a lustrous, untainted sports culture reach far beyond the icy expanses. They resonate in the halls of governance, echoed in the solemn declaration of Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s erstwhile shepherd sporting affairs, and a Liberal luminary hailing from Etobicoke North. Duncan’s voice joins a chorus of those who’ve competed under the Maple Leaf – soccer luminaries and decorated pugilists – all heralding a unified plea: for the nation to probe the mores that underpin the games that Canada holds dear.
