Letter: Hockey season is coming – Register today
Editorial note: The following is a submitted letter. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Kingstonist.
As we enjoy these last couple weeks at the far end of summer, it’s hard to imagine that kids of all ages in our area will be lacing up the skates and hitting the ice in September! Registration for the Church Athletic League of Kingston (CAL) house league minor hockey is open, and teams are filling up fast!
New players are very welcome in the CAL. Registration will be ongoing into September for all ages, from the wee ones just learning to play in our special U7 (under 7 years of age) initiation program, up to the CAL’s new U21 division. The CAL also offers separate registration for pre-season hockey and Player Development (Select) assessments, both happening in September: https://calkingston.com/cal-hockey-registration/.
Hockey culture has been changing for the better with increasing diversity and inclusion in leagues like the CAL, where teams are relatively balanced, gender doesn’t matter (separate change rooms are available), and everyone gets the same amount of ice-time regardless of ability. Our national pastime welcomes everyone to have fun learning individual skills and how to win and lose together as part of a team.
Thanks to strong interest, the CAL is bringing U21/Juvenile hockey back to Kingston. The new U21 division is for recently graduated U18 players (birth years 2003, 2004, or 2005), with one game time per week, and no practices. There will be balancing to ensure that all teams are competitive.
“We’re pretty excited to be re-starting the CAL’s U21/Juvenile division after almost a decade without this option for our youth” said Kim Shaw, one of the organizers. “Players graduating from U18 kept approaching us saying they were staying in Kingston to work or go to St. Lawrence College, RMC, or Queen’s, and that they’d really like to keep on playing in the CAL. We put out a survey and got strong interest, so registration for U21 is now open — let’s get back to the rink!”
You can reach out to the CAL office if you have any questions or hop online to register for house league hockey today. It’s a great way to get your kids out from behind their screens, exercising and playing a team sport with young people from all backgrounds having fun together on the ice.
With excitement for the coming season,
Andrew McCann
CAL Kingston Board Member and Coach
Share your views! Submit a Letter to the Editor or an Op/Ed article to Kingstonist’s Editor-in-Chief Tori Stafford at [email protected].
