Triton
01-30-2006, 04:55 PM
Concern about street hockey's demise prompts e-mail from Sidney Crosby
HALIFAX (CP) - Rookie NHL hockey star Sidney Crosby is sticking up for street hockey.
The 18-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., recently sent an e-mail to Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly asking regional council to reject a vaguely worded proposal that could see the popular pastime banned. "It was just something he enjoyed doing as a youngster," his mother, Trina Crosby, said in an interview Monday. "He just wanted to share some memories."
She said she told her son about the proposed bylaw, which was presented to council last week.
The proposal is aimed at controlling a range of activities that some residents have complained about in the past, including the burning of garbage and any behaviour that could impede traffic or threaten the safety of children.
But Harry McInroy, the regional councillor for Cole Harbour, said concerns regarding the survival of street hockey were unfounded.
"It's somewhat of a technicality and a misunderstanding," said McInroy, who also received Crosby's e-mail. "Because the bylaw wording was so vague and general, somebody suggested it could actually include (street hockey)."
The mayor said the proposed bylaw was a mistake and the region's staff has already taken a second look at the wording.
"It's not the intent to stop street hockey whatsoever," Kelly said, noting that his children play street hockey.
"It is not the intent to even bring this issue forward ever again. The fact is .?.?. it should not have come forward. It was an error."
In Crosby's e-mail, sent Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins forward - and a leading candidate for the NHL's rookie-of-the-year award - fondly recalled shooting pucks as a boy in his neighbourhood, a largely suburban area, 15 minutes east of Halifax.
Kelly said he wasn't surprised to learn the initial interpretation of the bylaw had prompted a reaction from Crosby and other street hockey fans.
"It was nice to hear from him on his experiences and the value it had for him," said Kelly, who declined to release the e-mail. "But it certainly brought things into perspective. Common sense must prevail in any bylaw."
Kelly said any concerns about child safety or traffic flow is already dealt with in the provincial Motor Vehicle Act.
Trina Crosby said she was looking forward to telling her son about the region's bid to clarify the bylaw.
"It's just such a simple pleasure in life that none of us want to see it banned," she said.
It's not the first time municipal politicians have earned scorn for meddling with what some would describe as a national rite of passage. And Crosby is not the first hockey star to come to its defense.
Two years ago, hockey legend Bobby Orr spoke out in a newspaper interview against a proposed street hockey ban in Rothesay, N.B.
Town officials eventually changed the bylaw to include a clause forbidding impediment of traffic, rather than a ban on street hockey.
In 2000, former Vancouver Canucks' tough guy Dave (Tiger) Williams offered to pay the legal fees for a Port Coquitlam couple threatened with a court injunction that would have prohibited their sons from playing in front of their home.
Fans and players of the street game, which has spawned a number of associations and tournaments in Canada and the United States, seem as passionate about their sport as those who play on the ice.
Last February, about 300 spectators and hockey players of all ages blocked a section of a main Vancouver street to protest a proposed highway development.
In Calgary, a man who called police to complain about young people playing street hockey was stunned when officers picked up sticks and joined the game.
And an angry dad in Chestermere, Alta., put it best when he blasted RCMP officers for shutting down his kids' game.
"It's my kids' birthright to play street hockey," Ray White said in April 2004. "They will be out there playing tonight, and if the police want to arrest me for it, then they can."
HALIFAX (CP) - Rookie NHL hockey star Sidney Crosby is sticking up for street hockey.
The 18-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., recently sent an e-mail to Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly asking regional council to reject a vaguely worded proposal that could see the popular pastime banned. "It was just something he enjoyed doing as a youngster," his mother, Trina Crosby, said in an interview Monday. "He just wanted to share some memories."
She said she told her son about the proposed bylaw, which was presented to council last week.
The proposal is aimed at controlling a range of activities that some residents have complained about in the past, including the burning of garbage and any behaviour that could impede traffic or threaten the safety of children.
But Harry McInroy, the regional councillor for Cole Harbour, said concerns regarding the survival of street hockey were unfounded.
"It's somewhat of a technicality and a misunderstanding," said McInroy, who also received Crosby's e-mail. "Because the bylaw wording was so vague and general, somebody suggested it could actually include (street hockey)."
The mayor said the proposed bylaw was a mistake and the region's staff has already taken a second look at the wording.
"It's not the intent to stop street hockey whatsoever," Kelly said, noting that his children play street hockey.
"It is not the intent to even bring this issue forward ever again. The fact is .?.?. it should not have come forward. It was an error."
In Crosby's e-mail, sent Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins forward - and a leading candidate for the NHL's rookie-of-the-year award - fondly recalled shooting pucks as a boy in his neighbourhood, a largely suburban area, 15 minutes east of Halifax.
Kelly said he wasn't surprised to learn the initial interpretation of the bylaw had prompted a reaction from Crosby and other street hockey fans.
"It was nice to hear from him on his experiences and the value it had for him," said Kelly, who declined to release the e-mail. "But it certainly brought things into perspective. Common sense must prevail in any bylaw."
Kelly said any concerns about child safety or traffic flow is already dealt with in the provincial Motor Vehicle Act.
Trina Crosby said she was looking forward to telling her son about the region's bid to clarify the bylaw.
"It's just such a simple pleasure in life that none of us want to see it banned," she said.
It's not the first time municipal politicians have earned scorn for meddling with what some would describe as a national rite of passage. And Crosby is not the first hockey star to come to its defense.
Two years ago, hockey legend Bobby Orr spoke out in a newspaper interview against a proposed street hockey ban in Rothesay, N.B.
Town officials eventually changed the bylaw to include a clause forbidding impediment of traffic, rather than a ban on street hockey.
In 2000, former Vancouver Canucks' tough guy Dave (Tiger) Williams offered to pay the legal fees for a Port Coquitlam couple threatened with a court injunction that would have prohibited their sons from playing in front of their home.
Fans and players of the street game, which has spawned a number of associations and tournaments in Canada and the United States, seem as passionate about their sport as those who play on the ice.
Last February, about 300 spectators and hockey players of all ages blocked a section of a main Vancouver street to protest a proposed highway development.
In Calgary, a man who called police to complain about young people playing street hockey was stunned when officers picked up sticks and joined the game.
And an angry dad in Chestermere, Alta., put it best when he blasted RCMP officers for shutting down his kids' game.
"It's my kids' birthright to play street hockey," Ray White said in April 2004. "They will be out there playing tonight, and if the police want to arrest me for it, then they can."