Red cheeks, frozen toes, toques on top of hockey helmets – there’s nothing quite like pond hockey, and Hockey Day in BWG is all about that outdoor experience.
Every year, Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury leisure services staff and local volunteers prepare two outdoor ice rinks at Bud Brown Memorial Park in Bond Head, and Bradford Bulldog IP and Tyke teams come out to play.
This year’s Hockey Day in BWG took place on Saturday morning. It was bitterly cold outside, but Inside the Bond Head Community Hall, the local Lions Club served up a pancake breakfast, and between games, kids and parents could warm up, enjoy hot chocolate, face-painting, balloon-twisting and indoor activities, before heading back out on the ice.
“It co-ordinates with Hockey Day in Canada,” said Paul Dossey, president of the BWG Bulldogs Minor Hockey Association. “It’s outside, it gets back to the roots of hockey – and the kids enjoy it!”
It was a challenge to keep warm – but the sun was shining, the ice was kept clear by a team of “human zambonis,” there was free coffee courtesy of McDonald’s, and every young hockey player received a medal, presented by a member of BWG council.
And as one parent was overheard to say, “Maybe next year it’ll be warmer.”
