Changing to Meet Challenges

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Chapter 5

The 1990s

Changing to Meet Challenges

The 1990s brought many changes to people’s lives at all levels. Internationally, the Americans invaded Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, an event televised live on CNN. In South Africa, apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was released from prison after thirty years and went on to become the nation’s first black prime minister. Many nations struggled with the challenges of climate change, and people and organizations everywhere came to grips with the increasing use of personal computers, more and more of which became linked to the growing World Wide Web.

Changes also occurred within Canada and Saskatchewan. Nationally, the Conservative party all but disappeared, and Quebec continued its threats to withdraw from the country. Native groups demanded more power and control over their own affairs and resources, and gained some concessions. Provincially, the NDP government of Roy Romanow struggled to deal with a huge provincial debt and problems caused by an exodus of young people seeking jobs in Alberta. Even the legendary Saskatchewan Roughriders faced major financial difficulties, a problem alleviated somewhat when the team hosted the province’s first ever Grey Cup in 1995.

Sports like broomball faced similar kinds of challenges. The numbers of players declined as the baby boom generation grew older and decided to take up less strenuous activities. Most boomers had smaller families than their parents, a fact which, when combined with the out-migration of young people, meant that there were fewer young people to take up active sports. One exception to this was the fast-growing aboriginal population where large families were common. With fewer players, there was less revenue available to run sports programs, a problem made worse by a reduction in SaskSports lottery revenue early in the decade. Thus, broomball, like other sports, found itself forced to change to prevent further decline in the number of players enjoying it.

SBA Activities

The provincial broomball association entered the decade in a reasonably strong position, with several successful programs established. Executive director Doug Pederson, who had started with the SBA in 1985, was known and respected by the broomball community, and he had Scott Julé serving first as high performance coach and then technical director. To attract new players, together they developed programs such as loaner kits. These consisted of enough basic equipment for twenty players, including sticks, shoes, and balls, which could be borrowed by classroom teachers or anyone putting on adult clinics. In some cases, an SBA trained coach would conduct the clinic, provided a person was available and there was money for travelling expenses. To inform and motivate people already playing, the SBA continued to publish Spotlite annually, announcing upcoming events and celebrating victories and significant volunteer efforts. To help encourage the latter, of whom there were never enough, the SBA began offering annual volunteer awards starting in 1994.

There were staff changes at the SBA during the 1990s. Julé left the SBA in 1993 without being replaced. Pederson resigned in 1998 to go to the Regina YMCA and was followed by Greg Perreaux, a man with both playing experience and academic training including a degree in Physical Activity Studies. Pederson’s farewell, published in the SBA’s mid-season publication Post It Notes, highlighted some of the SBA’s accomplishments over his thirteen year tenure:

I look back on some of our accomplishments with great pride. As always the SBA is a leader for this sport in Canada and indeed the world. Our High Performance program eventually had its funding pulled but not before encouraging the first Junior National Broomball Championships. The SBA is directly responsible for overtime in the National round robin, 18 minute periods and countless other rule changes which ensure this sport will continue to attract top calibre athletes and dedicated fans. Our Aboriginal Development program is second to no other sport. This program has tremendous potential and deserves your support. We were major contributors to the first National Coaching Certification program and are now writing the first National Officials Certification program. We are one of only a few places in the world that offers participation from age 11 years, or younger, and on into your 50’s in Mixed, Non Contact, and Contact categories. One needs only look at this year’s dual national hosting to know what the SBA is all about. Dedication and teamwork. Sometimes we forget that, but when it comes to the crunch the SBA and its members shine through.[1]

As Pederson mentioned, officiating was a major concern for the SBA, both because it was so important to the game and because it was a SaskSport priority. In an interview he identifies developing the rule book as a major priority, one which the Canadian Broomball Federation (CBF) had unofficially endorsed: “Now the CBF rule book is really our rule book. They think it’s their’s. But it isn’t, it’s ours.”[2] He also points out that the SBA works to keep the rules current, unlike the CBF which is extremely reluctant to change. When Don Gray, a man with decades of officiating experience at the national level and beyond, took over as SBA president in 1996, he continued the emphasis on this aspect of the sport.

In addition to developing the rule book, the SBA set up both clinics and on-ice evaluation programs to train officials. One measure of the success of this program occurred at the national championships held in Saskatoon in April 1992. For the women’s gold medal game, Regina referee Brenda Prokepetz, who had ten years experience, was paired with Moncton’s Monique Leblanc, the first time two women had ever officiated a game together. Championship head referee Steve Payne said that both women displayed the qualities he looked for in officials, namely confidence and a genuine desire to be there.[3] Prokepetz was just one of many referees from Saskatchewan who worked at national finals over the decade, but as time went on, fewer people were prepared to make this commitment. By the end of the decade, the SBA found itself very short of qualified officials for local as well as higher level events.

The strength of Saskatchewan’s officiating program was again shown in mid-decade when Brian Klenk of Regina was appointed referee-in-chief of the Canadian Broomball Federation. Klenk had played the game since high school, starting in Saskatoon and then moving to Regina, describing himself as “an aggressive kind of player.”[4] He felt that this experience had helped him as be moved to officiating as well as playing five years ago, because he knew “all the tricks a referee has to put up with during a game:”[5]

I think I try to call a good game. I’m not afraid to call a penalty. I’m not afraid to say it was a rule infraction. I think some of the officials get tentative.

If the game gets out of control, I’m not afraid to call three or four penalties in a row to calm it down. I’ve been in the same situation as a player where the official loses control of the game.[6]

In addition to all of this practical experience, Klenk also brought extensive knowledge of rule development to his new position, an expertise which he thought the CBF needed to bring its rule book up to date.

Aboriginal Broomball

In the early 1990s, SaskSport embarked on a new program entitled Sports for All, which involved initiatives to reach out to groups who had not been participating in organized sports, such as First Nations. Since broomball was looking for new participants, the sport took part in this program by approaching the province’s tribal councils and offering clinics and organizing assistance. Scott Julé, first the SBA’s high performance coach and later the technical director, remembers putting on clinics on a variety of reserves, some with indoor rinks and some without. He provided equipment from the loaner kits and worked with anyone interested, which sometimes included school groups with students from ages six to sixteen attending together.[7] He also worked with various band members to start organizing competitions, which primarily attracted girls, while boys seemed to prefer hockey.

In 1994, broomball was included in the Aboriginal Winter Games hosted in MeadowLake and other northern communities. To prepare for these games, the SBA held coaches’ and officials’ clinics at the Waterhen First Nation, at which seven officials were registered. The Games themselves attracted broomball competitors from all the provincial tribal councils, with two age categories of girls involved: ages seventeen to thirteen, and thirteen and under. Spotlite reported on the results of this event:

Senior and Junior Girls’ Gold Medallists were the teams from the Meadow Lake Tribal Council. The big winner, however, was the entire Aboriginal Community.

The SBA also came out on top. 18 new teams were gained as a result of this program, and three teams participated in the SBA provincial in both the Junior and Midget categories.[8]

The same article mentioned that the Saulteaux Girls had participated in the Junior Nationals and ended up with a silver medal in the B event, and an adult men’s team from Cochin had won Bronze in the Western B championships.

For the rest of the decade, the SBA continued to work with the tribal councils and various bands to help stage two annual events. One was the First Nations Winter Games, which continued to attract girls teams in events called Juvenile [ages 16-18], midget [14-15], and beginning in 1997, bantam [13 and under]. There were also aboriginal provincial championships beginning in 1996, which included events people of all ages and both genders, although only the mixed adult and the girls’ events attracted entries in some years. By the end of the 1997-98 season, the SBA was happy to report that there were thirty-seven teams involved with their programs, and that 616 of the roughly 1700 SBA members were aboriginal.[9]

Junior Competitions

The junior programs in the early 1990s were a continuation of those of the previous decade. Scott Julé continued with his elite program, including a second trip to Quebec for the High Performance teams in 1990, where the girls won again but the boys lost a heartbreaker to Quebec in spite of outplaying them. There was also a second Canadian Junior Open tournament in Regina the same year, which attracted teams from Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. However, the elite program ended when Sask Sport was no longer able to fund it, and the same lack of funding led to missed issues of Spotlite in the early 1990s which makes it very difficult to pin down exactly what tournaments were held.

One junior event which was held consistently throughout the decade was the provincial championship. As in the 1980s, this event was usually staged in a small centre, with Humboldt as host several times. The champions at these tournaments usually came from three small communities where broomball dominated: Odessa, Debden, and Bruno. In the boys’ events, the Odessa Bandits often defeated Bruno teams called the T-Birds and the Junior Axemen, and the girls’ event saw close contests between the Odessa Flames and the Debden Roadrunners, with Odessa taking six titles and Debden four. In 1995, a midget event for players fifteen and under was added, with teams from Bruno and Odessa winning. The success of the teams from these areas was due to strong coaching, which included staging warm-up tournaments as preparation for the provincial championships.

Beginning in 1992, the CBF began staging a national championship for young players, which they called the Juvenile Nationals. Saskatchewan, which had helped get this event started by first lobbying the CBF and then holding successful junior open competitions, sent its provincial champions, both boys and girls, every year. Carmen Kitting, a member of the Odessa Flames, provided Spotlite with a journal outlining her experiences on the trip to Montreal for the first championship, some of which show both the social and athletic elements of the trip:

30 April

Every man over 30 wears a suit, brick sidewalks in old Montreal, all but one T.V. station is French! Montreal streets are hell – ask one of the drivers, they probably have permanent gastric disorders.

2 May: played Ont. I in semi finals. WHOA BABY, WHAT A GAME! We went into double O.T. and they just so happened to make the winning goal. We were all suffering heart failure in O.T. Now advance to the finals for the Bronze. Kelly Weichel, Troy & Brad Glas were our cheering squad. Kelly isn’t the most like person after he went to the Ont. Flag waver and waved our Sask. flag in his face.

3 May

Sask. Boys play Manitoba in the semi & lost 2-1. Both teams play for the bronze, both top four, they’ll be proud of us at home.

We play Que. I. It was a very close game. Que. narrowly slipped by 1-0, so we get fourth. Even though we didn’t get a medal, it was worth it to go to Montreal.

The guys play Que. II for bronze. Wow, do the guys ever put on a show. Que. Scored with 34 seconds left to put them into overtime. Sask made them squirm but Que. scored the winner and took the bronze, 4-3. Jason Bender won MVP (again). So both Sask. Teams are fourth in Canada! IMPRESSIVE![10]

The Saskatchewan junior champions attended the national championship every year for the rest of the decade and continued to be competitive although never winning. Both the boys and girls usually finished somewhere between third and eighth place.

The exception to this came in 1994 in Regina, when both the Bandits and the Flames claimed silver medals. Spotlite reported on the exciting final games in this tournament:

Now onto the Sunday finals. The Odessa Flames girls’ team motivated by their huge victory over Ontario matched up against a very skilled Quebec team. The Flames stayed in the game until right near the end when Quebec scored to go up 2-0 and seal the win. Three cheers for Annette Gaetz who has done a great job putting in many years of volunteer effort in Odessa. Applause also goes to Don Heisler, the Odessa girls and the Debden girls (pick-ups for the Odessa team) for their efforts. The Boys’ final was another heartbreaker. The Odessa Bandits (with pick-up from the Bruno T-Birds), looked like the team to beat. Losing a 2-1 decision in the Gold Medal game will undoubtedly be in their thoughts for awhile. Dave Lenz and his Odessa Boys along with the Bruno additions played a great game and should be congratulated on a great performance. The town of Odessa should also be given a cheer to repay their ever loyal and vocal presence at all Junior games.[11]

Regina was host for the Juvenile Nationals twice during the 1990s, undertakings which required a huge commitment from a large number of people. Patti Schlechter, secretary of the organizing committee in 1994, reported to Spotlite on the staging of this event:

For those of you who were not fortunate enough to attend the 3rd Annual Junior Broomball Championships held in ReginaApril 7-10, 1994, I am happy to report that it was a most successful event in many ways. Successful not only because of the financial support we received, but the comradeship all of us obtained –players, coaches, fans, referees, and Broomball lovers! The committee worked well together over the thirteen months to prepare for the Championships. Although there are always obstacles to overcome when organizing a major event such as this, the end result was overwhelming.

Several comments were made regarding the genuine Saskatchewan hospitality. Many thanks to the SBA who helped us work through and organize these championships. Most of all, a special thank you to the Regina Mixed League, Regina Non Contact League, and Regina Senior Men’s League. Without the numerous volunteers obtained from these three leagues, we could not have run the event. A special hats off to both Gerry Frei and Joe Schlechter for their long and hard work as Arena Supervisors for the whole weekend!

Our congratulations to the Dynamiques Quebec girls team (defending, now two time, champs) and the Manitoba Boys team for their efforts in receiving the gold medals. Also the Odessa girls, Odessa boys, Saulteaux girls, and BigRiver girls teams together with the host team, the Regina Seals boys, should receive recognition for their determination and efforts.[12]

Adult Leagues and Competitions

Men’s broomball leagues continued to function during the 1990s in several Saskatchewan locations, but with fewer teams and players than in earlier decades. Regina boasted the most participants, actually having three different men’s leagues during the middle of the decade. Nine teams played in each of senior men’s and non contact, and there was also a super league with five teams. However, three of the men’s teams actually came from other centres, with the Capitals and CFB Blues from Moose Jaw, and the Brewers from Odessa. In 1994, there was a men’s super league which reached even further afield, with the Bruno Axemen joining the top threeRegina teams along with Odessa.[13] Saskatoon had fewer teams, namely Cappy’s, Knights, Kings, and Warriors. The small community of Bruno, always a broomball hotbed, had its own three-team league, in which the Humboldt Toros played the Axemen and the Bruno junior T-Birds.[14] The number of city teams stayed relatively constant over the decade, while the Bruno players started to play in Saskatoon.