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Action on the ice

By Noah Buchan
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Oct 21, 2006, Page 16

The sound of pucks echoing off the boards can be heard even before entering the inner sanctum of the arena. Once inside, the unmistakable smell of a hockey rink – that mix of rubber, cold ice and sweat – inundates the senses. A zamboni is parked in the corner waiting to clean the ice surface after the fifteen or so players finish their two-hour practice and head off to work.

　 　These players are gearing up for the international division of the Chinese Ice Hockey League (CIHL) season opener at the Taipei Arena this Sunday afternoon at 2pm with the Bears taking on the Sharks. Those who can't make it out for the afternoon game can catch the division triple-header the same day when the Sharks take the ice against the Lions at 7:20pm. The second game features the Tigers against the Raptors at 8:40pm, with the final game beginning at 10pm with the Rhinos playing the Wolves.

　 　The regular season runs until May, 2007, with games being played every second Sunday at the Taipei Arena.

　 　In addition to the season opener, some of the players on the ice are getting ready for a competition being held in Thailand on October 25 – one of only two competitions that take the team outside of Taiwan every year. The Taipei Typhoon – as they are called when representing Taiwan internationally – will be competing against eleven other teams in the international division. 　

　“The Fins are the team to beat, and most of their players are based in Singapore,” said Dave Campbell, a member of the squad heading off to Thailand and one of the promoters for the CIHL. But Campbell says that the Typhoon is sending their strongest team ever so they expect to return with gold.

　 　He added that victory in Thailand would mean that the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey Federation (CTIHF) – the organization responsible for organized hockey in Taiwan – would cover their registration fee. A victory in Thailand also raises the possibility of permanent ice time for free every Wednesday morning at the Taipei Arena, a luxury they enjoy only when there is an upcoming tournament. 　

　With only two ice facilities in Taiwan – a rink in Syijhih and two at the Taipei Arena – ice time is at a premium. And though both the rinks at the Taipei Arena are Olympic-sized, only one consistently has ice. 　

　“The larger of the two [spaces] are usually reserved for concerts and other large venues,” says Eddy Chang (張信一), rink manager at the Taipei Arena and the man behind the league's local – or Asian – division. 　

　The 2006-2007 season for the international division begins Sunday at 2pm when the Bears take on the Sharks at the Taipei Arena. Three games will follow what is sure to be an exciting opening match.

　 　The CIHL had its beginning in 1998 in Taichung. At the time, there was only one division with the majority of players come from western countries. But that season only lasted one year and the rink eventually closed. After a four-season hiatus, the league got back up and running in 2004 with a local and international division. 　

　The local division, which last year had five teams and is made up of predominately Taiwanese players, is classified as amateur, though it does have some strong talent. The international division, which last year had six teams and is about 80 percent foreigners, is a beer league that has many players at the semi-professional level. The break down for this year is six and seven teams, respectively. 　

　“Hockey has been increasing exponentially in Taiwan,” says Geoff Le Cren, vice-commissioner of the league and owner of MonoClub, a store that teaches inline skating and hockey.

　 　Le Cren says that when he started his hockey program eight years ago there were roughly 50 people playing hockey in Taipei, which includes inline hockey as well as ice hockey.

　 　“Now, there are over a thousand people who participate in hockey,” he said. 　

　“There are roller rinks everywhere [and] there are roller coaches everywhere,” said Tommy Sullivan, who is responsible for public relations and marketing and a professional inline skating coach with MonoClub. 　

　Le Cren says that it generally takes two years for learners to understand how to play the game. There is also a learning process that parents have to go through before they are willing to commit to the game.

　 　“Generally, Taiwanese parents don't have such a good understanding of the benefits of organized sport and the discipline that kids develop when they participate in organized sport,” he said. 　

　Le Cren goes on to say that once the parents see their kids improving, they are more willing to commit. The main focus of his program is inline skating but the eventual goal is to have the kids on the ice.

　 　“The transfer is easier,” after the kids have been practicing inline, says Sullivan. 　

　Rich Lee (李廣淮), general secretary of the CTIHF attributes the growing popularity of hockey in Taiwan to the excitement of the sport.

　 　“It's also popular because they see Japanese and Korean teams on TV [and] can sometimes watch NHL games” he said. 　

　Mal Turner, an ESL teacher and member of the squad going off to Thailand, says that the great thing about the beer league is that anyone can join. He added that though inexperienced players might not get as much ice-time as their more experienced counterparts, they do get to play. 　

　“There are some people on the ice who can skate but they still have a lot of problems handling the puck,” he said. “I don't even wear shoulder pads.”

　 　Not wearing shoulder pads would be suicide in any semi-professional league because of the fear of getting hit by a puck. The other fear would be getting slammed into the boards, though this is of little concern to Turner.

　 　“Part of this league is that we don't check. There are some times when you might get knocked into the boards [when going after the puck] but there is an unwritten rule that no hard checking is allowed,” he said.

　 　The referees and jerseys are paid for by the CTIHF and the players pay a deposit on the jerseys. Players are responsible for buying their own equipment and of course they have to pay for ice time.

　 　Finding sponsors for the sport has been difficult because of its low profile. “But just last week we got The Shannon on board as the official bar sponsor for this year. This is where we held our draft for the league,” said. 　

　To increase the profile of ice hockey in Taiwan – and of course the sponsorship of the sport – Chang came up with the idea for a third division. This division, he says, would be professional or semi-professional and would take the top players from the other two divisions. 　

　“The main goal is to [make] the league well organized. Because we don't think the sponsors will come,” unless it's well organized. 　

　“There is a standard that all players [would] have to meet before they can even join the league. This is different than the current local and international leagues [which] will take practically all comers, regardless of skill,” he said.

　 　Chang said that back in 1998, when the league first started, they invited TV stations to watch them play in Taichung. But because the quality of the playing was not exciting enough, they haven't shown that much interest since. 　

　“When we try to get TV or other companies to cooperate with the league it is very difficult because of their past experiences,” he said.

　 　But Chang is confident that, because the league is now stable and growing, the media is going to start expressing more interest. He uses inline skating to illustrate how a sport can gain popularity.

　 　When inline skating first started out, “we practically had to beg television stations, magazines and newspapers to cover the new sport,” he said. After a few years the tables became reversed. “All of a sudden, the phone is ringing off the hook with people interested in interviewing the inline hockey players and the people behind the sport,” he said.

　 　Though organizers for both leagues hope that when enough players have made the leap from inline skating to ice hockey the third league will become a reality, they differ on how long this process will take. 　

　“I hope it is a reality for the next season,” says Chang. 　

　Le Cren is a little more conservative in his estimates, placing a likely time for a professional division at three years. 　

　No matter how long it takes, it looks as though ice hockey in Taiwan is here to stay and is only going to continue to grow in popularity.

　 　“We hope that that eventually TV stations will want to broadcast [the games] with commentary,” Chang said.

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