Hockey Alberta bans body checking in peewee

Starting this fall, only minor hockey players in Bantam and up will be allowed to body check in games.

Eliminatingbody checking at the peewee level will eliminate 400 concussions and more than 1,000 injuriesfor 11- and 12-year-olds each year in Alberta, says Hockey Alberta.

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"There is overwhelming evidence that body checking is the single most consistent risk factor for injuries and concussions in youth ice hockey," wroteboard chair Rob Virgil in a statement Wednesday.

"Our players safety is the foundation in making this decision," he said.

Hockey Calgarywill implement theban this fall.

"Having itacross the board, so all of Alberta is body checking free at the peewee level, now makes it equal no matter where you're playing in Alberta," said Christina Rogers of Hockey Calgary.

Rogers says coaches can still teach hitting during peewee practices.

Data shows that hockey players at 11 and 12vary greatly in size and weight and doctors warn of the potential damage to developing brains, said executive director Rob Litwinski.

Parents, coaches split on issue

"One of the highest risk factors is for the elite peewee," said Litwinski."If this decision is a player safety one, as we say it isand it certainly is, then why would you leave the top level, where the highest risk is, out."

Hockey Calgary had proposed a similar ban in the past, but that wasdefeated last summer.

Kevin Tyson,a Calgary coach and parent of a player, says the ban at peewee makes no sense because body checking is a skillthat is a part of the game.

"It's baffling," he said."It doesn't really make sense at all. Likewe defeated it last[year] and all of a sudden nowit's suddenly pushed through."

Hockey Alberta acknowledges parents are split 50-50 on the issue, but the ban is here to stay.

Litwinski says Ontario and Quebec have eliminated body checking forsome peewee teams, but Alberta is the first province in the country to ban body checking forall peewee-level hockey players.

Hockey Alberta, which governs hockey in the province,put together the committee to come up with recommendations on body checking two years ago.

Litwinski expects some push back on the banfrom parents of children playing at the elite level, buthe hopes they'll come around afterreviewing the data.