The Hockey Canada body-checking rule : an analysis of the policy change process

Abstract

Body checking in hockey has been a heavily debated issue in Canada for over 30 years. There are so many opinions that exist, for and against body checking at all levels of ice hockey, even at the elite levels such as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the National Hockey League (NHL). When it comes to body checking at the grassroots level of hockey, stakeholders share concerns about many variables like safety, skill development, recruitment and retention of young players. All of these issues are constantly reviewed and assessed in order to adapt to the ever-changing nature of the game of hockey.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the policy change process of Hockey Canada and its associate member organizations in regards to the body checking rule change. The scope of the thesis was to identify and analyze the how, why, who, when, and where questions about the policy change process itself.

A questionnaire was used to collect insight and perspective from Hockey Canada Officers, Branch presidents, Branch Executives, athletic representatives, council directors, associate members from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the Canadian Interuniversity Sports, as well as members of the advisory groups, working groups, or committees tasked to review the current state of body checking in Canada.

The findings produced implied that thorough review on the topic of body checking was established by Hockey Canada, information was received and understood by the decision makers, decisions were influenced by the body of research, and decision makers agreed with the implementation of the recommendation proposed by the advisory committees.