Canada Is Losing Hockey As Its National Game
Fewer Adult Canadians Are Participating In Recreational Ice Hockey
Jan 3, 2009
In 2008 Statistics Canada released a 101 page report of a study covering the period 1992-2005 that showed that adult Canadians were less active in sports and that hockey in particular was no longer the national game, if participation was the criterion. The Sport Participation in Canada Report (2008) focused on definitive considerations in their study, such as:
- an adult was any man or woman over 15 years old
- the sport had to be organized and/or competitive in nature
- non-organized, non-competitive activities like walking, jogging or biking were excluded
Some of the findings indicated alarming trends.
- there were over 3 million fewer Canadians participating in sports regularly in 2005 than 1992
- 45% of adults were participating in 1992 compared to 28% in 2005
- from age 15 to 55+ participation rates declined, from 77% to 59% for young adults and from 25% to 17% for those over 55..
These figures (pp. 9-12) were alarming for two reasons: as a society Canadians might be less fit and culturally they might not be choosing hockey as their national game.
Hockey and the Canadian Psyche
In 1998 and 2005, more Canadians played golf (1.5 million) than hockey (1.3 million). However hockey is a team sport, with more integration than just participants, including spectators and volunteers. "The result is an inherent shared experience among all those involved, an experience that may spill over to the community at large, providing a sense of belonging" according to Sport Participation in Canada Report, (2008, p. 28). If one goes beyond participation only, then hockey is still a national pastime.
However hockey still tends to be male-dominated. Where approximately 2 men for every women play golf, in hockey it is almost 6 men for every woman.More telling is the fact that those under 15, the children, are choosing soccer first and hockey second for boys, fourth for girls (although girls playing hockey increased 3 times from 1998-2005 (p. 34).
One positive note is that approximately 50% of male and female participants in hockey take part in tournaments, adding to the community experience. Hockey Canada which is the representative of amateur hockey cites an increase in registration from novice to senior over 10 years, 1998-2008. It has gone from 519,000 to 558,000, with males down slightly from 490,000 to 481,000 but females up dramatically from 29,000 to 77,500. Perhaps it is the female role models that have helped with these figures.
Female Role Models
Womens hockey has been a success story for a decade. At the upper level, it has buoyed Canadian pride. Winning Olympic gold in 2002 and 2006, the team is ranked #1 for the 2010 Olympics. The team has also won 9 of the last 10 Four Nation tournaments. Five provinces are represented on the team, with Hayley Wickenheiser (Sask.), Jennifer Botterill (Man.), and Gillian Ferrari (Ont.) to name a few.
Male Role Models
Canada's under-20 men's national junior teams have galvanized Canadians every Christmas time recently. They have won medals at 10 of the last 10 tournaments; the last 4 have been gold. At the 2008 Canada vs USA preliminary round game in Ottawa, 20,000 were in attendance. Unfortunately, men's style of play has some ugly models too. Todd Bertuzzi's attack on Steve Moore in 2004 and fighting in general in the NHL are cited as reasons for tuning out hockey. Perhaps it is the senior ranks that can provide new motivation to continue participating in hockey.
Senior Oldtimers Hockey (SOH) is now hosting tournaments well beyond the 50 year old group. They now organize for 70, 75, and even 80 year olds. One twist, according to Senior's Choice Newsmagazine (Dec., 2006), is that one can sign up individually and play on different teams rather than just team entrants.
The number of Canadian adults watching sports almost doubled from 1992 to 2005. Participation is great but when including spectators, volunteers, and the shared community experience, hockey is still arguably the national pastime.
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