Canada’s favourite past time is quickly becoming more exclusive and inaccessible to kids. The cost for equipment, ice rentals, tournament fees, all adds up to be an extremely expensive sport for kids to play. And frankly, most households in Canada cannot afford it. This is contributing factor as to why Canada hasn’t seen an increase in enrolment in youth hockey in recent years. High level hockey at young age is playing a huge factor in the isolation of the elite players from the rest of the pack. With the private sector building the new rinks, the price of ice time has skyrocketed, and it is becoming an exclusively upper-class sport. This is driving many kids and families away from Canada’s game.  

Kids are playing on AAA teams at age 8-10 are already signed up for separate sessions away from their teams’ practices.  These kids are specializing in power skating, skill development, off-ice training. Some of them have been signed up for these clinics since they were five years old. The parents of the upper class have no issue at all with dumping money into their children’s hockey development when other kids who are not as fortunate are simply getting left behind. Sean Fitz-Gerald, a well-known Canadian sportswriter jokes about his kids’ enrolment in hockey in Ontario: “Are they going to call the cops on me because there is a Honda Civic in the parking lot and it’s too close to that Range Rover?’” he says. “It’s insane: Porsche, Lexus, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, they are all there. And those are the top-40 kids. Something has to be done to make hockey more accessible to all Canadian kids. If we continue on this trajectory, Hockey will no longer be “Canada’s Game”, it will eventually become Canada’s niche game and only accessible for families in the highest income bracket. 

The more As the more you pay (Source: Topher Scott)