Speed Hockey Update

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

The inaugual 2003 International Speed Hockey League event will take place on September 13, 2003, at the Bren Event Center at UC Irvine, in Irvine, California.

Tickets will go on sale July 1 via Ticketmaster, and an official league press release will be available on July 17.

The league also announced that Mike King, the founder of Roller Hockey International's Vancouver VooDoo, will be on the league's board of advisors.

The league is still accepting applications for team ownership and major-level sponsorship enquiries. For more information, please contact Bob Elder via e-mail at mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[missionhockey21]

Sweet... *wishes he lived in California* lol

[ggriffaw]

Sorry if this has been posted already, but I don't remember seeing the website being announced. I noticed the email address in the previous note and thought I would try http://www.speedhockey.org/. The site is up.

[rlrhky13]

Hey guys here is the article... If you want it sent via e-mail message me and I will send it to you that way also...


Speed Hockey boosts roller sector

A new game is on the horizon could prove to be a real boom for hockey facilities and equipment manufacturers alike.

Speed Hockey is a new version of roller hockey being launched by International Speed Hockey Inc., an organization whose founders and advisors resemble a who's who of professional roller hockey management, players, facility operators and equipment suppliers.

"We're extremely excited. This is the best thing that's happened to the inline hockey industry" Nicholas Johannes, president and founder of international Speed Hockey, told Hockey Business News. Johannes is also the developer and owner of IceCourt inline hockey flooring, and is credited with creating the Speed Hockey facility concept.

So what exactly is Speed Hockey? It's a team sport played with three players and one goalkeeper per team. The professional rink size will be 85 feet by 85
feet and is surrounded by conventional 42-inch dasher boards, but with corners that are chamfered at 45 degrees.

For an unobstructed, fast playing surface, the goals have been moved out of the playing area and are recessed into the dasher boards. The referees monitor the game from behind and above the goals, similar to tennis. With rules to keep the game moving with minimal interruptions, game scores are typically much higher than ice or roller hockey.

The amateur version of the sport will afford players more opportunities and places to play, since the game can be played in smaller areas such as unused tennis and basketball courts, the company says. Underutilized facilities could easily convert to become Speed Hockey venues.

"Speed Hockey also offers opportunities for schools, colleges, parks and recreation departments and YMCAs, since the size of a portable rink fits onto a basketball or tennis court or in a small area of their sports compound" the company says.

The genesis for Speed Hockey comes from the loss of professional roller hockey leagues that flourished in the mid-1990s but died off and affected the health of the sport. Speed Hockey cofounder and chairman Alex Bellehumeur, a retired real estate developer and former governor of California, was initiating founder and chairman of Roller Hockey International and was involved in other hockey related interests.

"Those of us, who have been involved in the inline hockey industry recall the tremendous success of RHI in its first four years of existence" he says. "Millions of spectators attended the games, often times exceeding 10,000 spectators per game. Teams played throughout the US and Canada, as well as exhibition games in many parts of Europe and Asia."

According to Bellehumeur, RHI had a business plan that mapped out success, but after he and the other RHI founder sold their controlling interest, new management encountered problems and the league eventually dissolved.

The loss of RHI created a negative and enduring effect on all aspects of inline hockey, says International Speed Hockey, which has been working on the new league since 2001.

The company's mission is to use the RHI experience to develop a professional league that will achieve a high and sustained level of success that will benefit the industry as a whole. This means facility owners and operators, not to mention equipment suppliers, could benefit from the success of Speed Hockey.

Besides Bellehumeur and Johannes, other 'dignitaries' lending their support are Dennis Murphy, the first president of RHI and a founder of the World Hockey Association, who will be a vice-president and founder of Speed Hockey; Hyper Wheels founder Tom Peterson; and Joe Cook, global director of roller hockey at Mission Hockey and a former RHI and American Hockey League player, who sits on the advisory board.

"Throughout the hockey industry, its fantastic the response we're getting, and we're not even asking for any investment yet,&quot; says Johannes. &quot;We've just introduced speed hockey to them."

The company begins testing games in Vancouver next month, and will begin an exhibition season in September. The first season of league play is scheduled for May of 2004, with playoffs at the end of August.

Meanwhile, International Speed Hockey executives continue to meet to sort out the league composition. Franchise owners will not own merely a team, but a region, or "area of dominant influence."

In conducting market research over the past 18 months, the company says it approached many established rink owners and managers. "These highly regarded entrepreneurs remain the backbone of our industry Having invested in and managing expensive facilities, they 6mbrace our vision to expand the popularity of inline hockey, but only if they can benefit without risk and large investments."

The rink measurements and the layout of Speed Hockey have been designed to support the assets and expertise of existing rink owners, Bellehumeur adds. With a small investment in rinkdividers and minor modifications to dasher boards and centre nets, facility owners can offer Speed Hockey to clientele and have two games running simultaneously.

For suppliers to the sport, Speed Hockey could create increased demand for roller hockey product.

"Kids will be encouraged- -to
play any hockey, starting with
ball hockey or street hockey;
advance to buying roller hockey
skates, and then maybe graduate
into a Speed Hockey facility,"
says Johannes, "Once they know
they like the sport they'll commit
to spending $300 on a new pair of
skates and protective."

"It's about spreading the game of hockey, not just Speed Hockey It's creating a game to get people to go out and play."

"There's lots of interest. It's tremendously encouraging for us."

HOCKEY BUSINESS NEWS

[missionhockey21]

Thanks for the link ggriffaw.

[Slipknot61]

I will check out this league and let you guys know how it is. UCI is about 10 minutes from my house.
Is this the same league that is supposed to be on Fox Sports Net?

[missionhockey21]

I got the email of the article. It sounds very interesting. Thank you

[RichardGraham]

Hi Rlrhky13,

Was this a typo?

"Speed Hockey cofounder and chairman Alex Bellehumeur, a retired real estate developer and former governor of California."

That's news to me!

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[missionhockey21]

Wow, former Gov., we are really moving up in the world ;-)

[rlrhky13]

Rich,
To be honest I am not sure I just scanned it in and pasted it up on the page... I just looked back throught the article and it is definately written there so I am not sure if they typed something wrong or by accident...

[RichardGraham]

Hi rlrhky13,

For a moment there, I thought I was losing my mind, but apparently, the Hockey Business News needs to stay out of politics. LOL.

Here's the list of California governors dating back to 1959:

Pat Brown 1959 - 1967
Ronald Reagan 1967 - 1975
Jerry Brown 1975 - 1983
George Deukmejian 1983 - 1991
Pete Wilson 1991 - 1999
Gray Davis 1999 -

If Bellehumer was governor more than 43 years ago, he must have been the youngest governor in California history. [img]/wtimages/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

(Then again, HBN did a feature article on V-Formation's Rich Stelnick after V-Form bought the back cover advertisement on the magazine, so they don't have a helluva lot of credibility with me.)

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[missionhockey21]

So I guess hockey does not know its fair share of politics. lol

[RichardGraham]

Hi Mission,

That's only the first event. The league intends to have both a Western Division and an Eastern Division.

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central

[missionhockey21]

Ok cool, that sounds like an idea that could work ^_^

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

I was right, I wasn't losing my mind. (I've already lost it.)

IHC reader Rebecca comes through:

"I think this is about as close to governor as he got.

GOVERNOR DAVIS NAMES MEMBERS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

SACRAMENTO ? Governor Gray Davis today announced the appointments
of Alexander Bellehumeur as a member of the California State World Trade
Commission..."

Blah, blah, blah. [img]/wtimages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central