Mini hockey sticks cause small problem for schools

By Kelli Corscadden

Mini hockey sticks will still be allowed on playgrounds at Centretown schools, following an incident at an elementary school in the Glebe that saw the sticks banned.

Some parents are apprehensive about the mini-sticks being used on the playground.

“It’s an object. If there is no supervision and they don’t use it for hockey, they should be removed from the school. Children can’t predict consequences so the sticks should stay at home,” said Centretown resident Chantal Boucher, a parent of two.

Currently there are no regulations prohibiting the children at all six Centretown elementary schools from bringing the sticks to school, mainly because schools haven’t had any problems with them.

“I’ve never seen a student with one,” said St. Anthony’s School Principal John Dorner. “But if other kids have them it’s probably only a matter of time.”

These mini-sticks, a little larger than a 30-centimetre ruler, are usually adorned in hockey team logos and are used by kids to play a mini game of hockey.

The problem at First Avenue Public School in the Glebe came when a child was hit by another student with a mini-stick. The parent of the struck child complained to the principal of the school, who then banned the sticks.

The school’s parent council that will ultimately decide whether the ban will be permanent, is still split on the issue.

Until a decision is reached, the children who used the sticks will spend their recesses playing hockey with only their feet and a tennis ball.

The decision will not directly affect other schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board or the Catholic board, but may serve to set a precedent for other schools with similar incidents.

“It has not been as issue across the board,” said Maggie Melenhorst, a spokeswoman for the public school board.

“This was a site-based decision by a principal. We can’t speculate on what other principals would do, but in all decisions, the safety of our students come first.

“Anything has the potential to be a weapon. Pencils have points, are they weapons?” asked Dorner. “Seldom is it used that way, but when an object takes on the meaning of a weapon we would have to respond with a direction to ensure the safety of kids at school.”

Mini-sticks are hot commodities at stores like Canadian Tire and Zellers, who say they sell out of the product early in the hockey season.

Ottawa 67’s fans purchase more than 25 of the $7 sticks at every game, says a merchandising representative.

Some parents say they wonder where the banning will stop since if used improperly, anything has the potential to be a weapon.

“I don’t see what the problem is. Hockey is a part of their tradition,” said Elgin Street School parent David Balloch.

Balloch acknowledges his eight- and nine-year-old children play with the sticks at home, but they say they wouldn’t bring them to school.

“Not at school,” said Veronica, Balloch’s eight-year-old daughter. “They are dangerous and someone could get poked in the eye.”