The annual report of the Rick Hansen Institute on youth health and safety contains a survey of more than 2000 hockey parents which finds that 67% of them would delay the introduction of body-checking until age 15 or older.
- Two thirds of hockey parents (67%) and four-in-five hockey fans (79%) support delaying the introduction of body-checking until age 15 or older.
- Two thirds of parents (66%) and seven-in-ten fans (71%) support the idea of having youth only play others of the same age. (Currently, player ages can vary by as much as three years in some divisions).
- One in six (16%) have considered moving their child to a non-body-checking league.
- Only 17% think delaying body-checking will hinder their child—half (49%) believe it will make no difference and one-in-four (26%) think it will be helpful.
- And, only about 7% of respondents oppose enlarging rink sizes to international standards, which some say is another important way of reducing hockey related injuries. Read the full report from the Rick Hansen Institute
