THE Benefits of cross-ice hockey 

The key playing benefits of cross-ice are that it promotes creativity, creates an environment for self- learning, increases player participation, speeds up the learning process, improves decision making skills so the player reads and acts quicker, and maximizes skill learning and development.

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At a child's earliest and most important development stages, (ages 3-12), this format is even more important to build a proper foundation for long-term success.

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A study of hockey games played on the full-ice surface by George Kingston found:

• In a sixty minute running time full ice hockey game with 6-8 year old children, the average player had possession of the puck for 20.7 seconds 

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• Youth players had an average of less than 0.5 shots per game in full-ice games.

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• In a sixty-minute full-ice game, the actual playing time of the game was 20 minutes and 38 seconds

• Individual players are on the ice every third or fourth shift resulting in even less ice time (6 to 9 minutes per player).

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We believe that age and stage appropriate playing surfaces are critical to proper learning, creativity, fun and life-long participation.

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We believe that changing the path requires building physical literacy through multisport development and playing seasonal sports.

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We believe that our children's future, and the future for hockey in Canada are worth fighting for and hope you can join us in this important mission.