“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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