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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,May 17, 2011 OPINION Ban welcome In an effort to keep kids on the ice and out of hospital beds, the Ontario Hockey Federation is planning to take hitting out of the game once and for all. For recreational house league play, anyway. A bodychecking ban announced recently is set to affect house league players from the ages of six to 21. It's a welcome addition to the changing game of hockey. The ban is without a doubt on track to keep more young players in the game and out of emergency rooms, and could also open the door for new players who may have been intimidated in the past to test out their skills for fear of being intentionally hit. There has been so much press about young players being injured while on the ice. Some from bad hits, and others from what would be considered clean ones, with concussions and injuries continuing to rise among young players. Removing hitting of any kind from the game will foster healthy relationships between players as they build their skill sets and enjoy one of Canada's favourite pastimes. And they can do this all without fear of being bodychecked. The announcement has been met with both praise and distaste from the public, who are either for or against the decision. However, there's just no way to justify a 10-year-old being slammed into the ice by an opposing player. We should be protecting children, not putting them in harm's way. Children playing hockey for the fun of it should be learning the fundamentals and basics of the game, and hitting doesn't need to be a part of it for the younger ages. If your child is on the path to becoming the next NHLer, then perhaps a rep league and not a house league that's banned contact is the way to go. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Treat days not making kids fat Dear editor, Re; New food policy a positive step (April 5 Health Care section article by Marcia Dawes) We are doing pizza day once a week and a hotdog day once a month....and you are trying to say that by doing this these days are making our students obese? Maybe you should tell the parents to look at what they feed their kids and how long they allow them to sit around doing nothing, because pizza once a week and hotdogs once a month are not making our kids fat! We also do healthy snack program every Tuesday and Thursday but no one seems to be talking about that. Maybe the time you have spent on these surveys you should have put towards more activities for the kids that would be a better idea of time well spent. I'm sick of the government telling us what is good for our kids.... that should be common sense. We have a very successful lunch and snack program at our school because of a great group of parent volunteers and a great staff that supports them in every way. Our kids enjoy the extras that we do for them and the joy of those kids when they get a "treat" for lunch is wonderful to see. Do you not realize that for some of these kids this is really a treat. Kids want good memories of school and by taking the small things away you are only creating negative memories of all the things that they used to have. Monica Galway, Acton The younger folks screamed until they got their three arenas, even though we've paid for and seen the "new arena" not only built, but added onto. We'll never get the facilities we 55+ taxpayers need, and deserve, if we don't fight for our cause by taking advantage of what we have now-- and maybe do a little screaming of our own. Go on Tuesday morning and see those who aren't quite as agile anymore exercising; go Tuesday or Thursday morning and see the more fit participants doing cardiovascular routines, lifting weights, doing pushups or crunches, then on Tuesday, stay for the line dancing; go Thursday morning and watch "Zumba" dancing to Latin American rhythms, plus Stretch and Tone, craft and drama clubs, and more. There are soup days, sandwich days, dinners, pancake breakfasts, sales of new and used items as well as handmade crafts, teas on special occasions and movie Fridays. There are always volunteers and anyone there would be more than happy to either show people around or direct them to Sherri or Terry who, with the instructors and dedicated volunteers, manage to keep all these things organized and running as smoothly as possible. Rita Bairstow, Georgetown Visit the seniors' centre Dear editor, The Georgetown Seniors Centre is definitely in need of some interest from the more mature taxpayers of our town. There are activities to suit pretty much anything anyone could want. The problem is that there is still a perception that, whether we're 55 or 85, we're not old enough to go to the seniors' centres for activities. This is far from the truth. Annual membership is a mere $35, but you don't even have to be a member to take part in some of the activities-- just pay a little more than the member fee, and there are some activities at a minimal charge. WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) The Ontario Hockey Federation has announced it is banning bodychecking for most youth house and select leagues in Ontario. Do you agree with this decision? · Yes (77%) · No (23%) The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.