A Hockey Canada ban on body checking in pee-wee competition has resulted in a steep drop in players suffering body injuries and concussions.

A Hockey Canada ban on body checking in pee-wee competition has resulted in a steep drop in players suffering body injuries and concussions.
Photo Credit: AP Photo / Tom Mihalek

A body-checking ban in Canadian peewee hockey pays off

When Hockey Canada decided in 2013 to ban body checking in games involving 11-and 12-year-olds, no one was sure what the repercussions would be.

Mark those repercussions down as positive.

The results of a University of Calgary study are in and it’s heartening news for Canadian parents fearing the ill-effects of body checking in peewee hockey.

Since the ban, there’s been a drastic drop in injuries (50 per cent) and concussions (64 per cent).

That translates to 581 fewer concussions and 772 fewer injuries in Alberta alone and 4,800 fewer concussions in one year in Canada.

Kinesiology professor Carolyn Emery, of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary, says the huge disparity in the size of peewee players leaves them especially vulnerable to injuries.

She terms the drop in injuries and concussions “a pretty huge public health impact.”

Emery adds that children in the peewee players are still able to learn skills that prepare them for body checking as they move up to leagues with older players.

Data from the study will be presented next week at an International Olympic Committee injury prevention conference in Monaco.

Categories: Health, International, Society, Sports
Tags: ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.