Thanks to author Andrew Sherburne and the generous folks at Beaver Pond Press, I’m excited to tell you that we have a signed copy of Ben and Lucy Play Pond Hockey to give away to one lucky reader TODAY (read our review here). Because we want to ship this out tomorrow and provide you the best chance of receiving it before Christmas, this contest will end at 9pm ET tonight, December 16th.
There are three ways to enter, and you’re encouraged to use all three:
1 – Comment on this post with your favorite pond or backyard hockey memory or tradition. Simple and easy, right?
2 – Write on our Facebook wall and tell us who you’d like to play against in your dream 1-on-1 pond hockey matchup.
3 – Tweet about why you read our site and what you like best about it. Be sure to include @backyardhockey in your tweet or we may not see it.
That’s it! You have approximately 12 hours to get your entries in. Entries will be aggregated, and a random winner will be chosen using the Random.org utility. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
The book will be shipped as soon as we receive the winner’s mailing address. This contest is open to anyone in the US and Canada, though Christmas delivery may not be possible to Canadian addresses. We’ll do our best.Â
To purchase the book, visit Amazon.com. Affiliate disclosure applies.
My favorite backyard or pond hockey memory or tradition really isn’t a tradition, as we don’t usually get the right kind of weather for frozen ponds or outdoor hockey in eastern PA. Growing up, my favorite memories were of using shovels and brooms to sweep fresh snow off the driveway, leaving just enough of a coating to bring out sticks and pucks (the only downside is, not having real ice for skates!). We had Bobby Clarke hockey sticks and a tattered old net that was actually created for practicing baseball pitching and catching. And sometimes, we had to use roller hockey balls because pucks just wouldn’t work on a slightly dusty gravel surface. But, we would still play for hours or until our hands were numb, and over the years we collected a lot of random equipment that we still have today (even though it no longer fits)….goalie helmets, beat-up pads, and lots of broken hockey sticks.
My favorite moment was the first time I skated on an outdoor rink when I was a little child and I remember that is was so cold out but I didn’t want to quit because I was having way to much fun and now I can’t wait until my son who just turned 1 is old enough for me to build a backyard rink for him to get that experience. I have already measured my yard and have figured out how and were it is going to go.
But what if I don’t have a favorite tradition or memory? We are new 🙂 I skated on a pond once, long long ago. I don’t know how I didn’t break something. All I remember is I thought I’d freeze but in reality I wasn’t the least bit cold. I was having too much fun. If only they would have let us have sticks and a puck!
Favorite moment is the 5 senses of the first skate of the season: 1. The smell of that first fire in the fire pit accompanying 2. the sounds of hockey stops and yelling about goals/non-goals. 3. The taste of the hot chocolate brought out to dad & the kids. 4. The feel of the first good carved turn in the “deep” part of the rink and 5. the sight of my kids’ rosy faces and runny noses after 3 straight hours in the outdoors away from the tv.
My favorite memory: Friday, March 9, 2007. I know this because I wrote about this experience in my blog. The memory stands out as my favorite because it symbolizes why I love my family, my rink, and the thought of building and maintaining it all over again this winter…and one after that…and the one after that…
It was after dark and weather forecasts told us that it would be the last time we would be able to skate on our very first backyard rink. So Danny (then age 8), Caroline (then age 10), and I laced them up for one final skate. It was the weekend so I let them stay up late and as the 10:00pm hour approached we finally stopped skating. Caroline and Danny joined me at center ice and I half-heartedly told them told them it was time to, “Say goodbye and we’ll see you next year” to the rink. Danny dropped to his knees, put his hands down on the ice as if he were holding on to it, and began sobbing. I was stunned. I picked him up and held him as long as I could. Caroline came over and put her arms around he and I. After a while I put their skate guards on and had her bring him inside to Debbie so that I could take my skates off. I looked up as they were walking up the walkway and into the house and they were walking side by side; Caroline with her arm around Danny. In all he cried for a half an hour. As I took off my skates I thought to myself how sad it was that “All good things must come to an end”….and how I couldn’t wait ’til next year.
I claim no ownership of this idea but I love the tradition of the kids saving a chunk of ice from the backyard rink as it melts into a big pool, storing it in the freezer over the summer/fall and then plopping it into the new rink as it fills. Totally one of those circle of life kinds of things.
Growing up we used to play on the cranberry bogs – perfect as they are easy to get to and pretty well defined skating areas being man made. And HUGE. We’d rotate around the bog to get ‘fresh ice’. Remember once we got our drivers license we’d play well into darkness by turning the car headlights on.
Thank you to everyone for contributing. I loved reading about your memories and traditions, and I am humbled to be a part of this hockey community with you all. Now go out there and make some new memories!