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4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. February 21, 1984 ) ® | © I A ts HE ; oz a "a Ga Fs i , ; i a SR a re ; we BiG BRoyHERS B/G BROTHERS BIG BROTHER chatterbox by John B. McClelland THOUGHTS ABOUT FACE MASKS Over the past few years, I've seen more hockey games than I'd care to remember. Some were very good, some bad. whieh of thinking is t un-health ' to my wa most un- y or the s and for the y e taking . You to notice it at about the Bantam level, and it becomes more pronounced as players get older. In the Junior C league, hardly a game goes by where you won't see a very good example of what I'm talking about. The amount of cking, elbowing and slashing | around the head and face is reaching the serious point. I'm not talking about the very blatant and vicious two- hander where a player quite literally tries to detach an t's cranium from the rest of his body. That kind thing I haven't seen often, thankfully. But I think I'm correct when I say is more and more high- | sticking, cross-checking and slashing where the stick comes in direct contact with the t's head or face. I've had several discussions about this with people who are closer to the hockey scene than I am, and we agree that one reason for this has been the advent of the full-cage face mask worn by all minor hockey and Junior C players. The full-cage mask no doubt has saved a lot of serious eye, mouth and facial injuries among young hockey players. There are players today with full vi- sion who might be blind in one or both eyes had the not been wearing the full cage-mask. Likewise wi But I think the advent of the full cage-mask has given young players a kind of licence to carry the sticks high. They know they can't do a great deal of serious damage by taking a at an opponent's head with the - stick A mild cross-check in the back of the head, even a slap with the blade of the stick across the face is usual- ly not going to result in blood s , loss of an eye or a tooth, or any serious injury. It shakes the player up, to be sure, but in most cases that's the extent of it. ~The full mask has made a lot of paper heroes out of hockey players who couldn't fight their way out of a shoe box. As long as he's that mask, a player knows he can scrap with anybody on the ice and come away virtually un-marked. So What We Are Seeing 42 3 101 of fights whare two drop their gloves ng up JlAYSrs Sup tis due and Ben AIG something starting to creep into the ° -of battering ram to check an I have seen games where the smallest guy on the ice will pick a fight with the biggest guy on the other team, then skate happily to the penalty box or the dress- ing room. But some players don't stand for this kind of thing so a new wrinkle is try to rip the other's guy helmet and mask off, and then plant a couple of rights and lefts to the chops. I'm y amazed that players don't suffer serious throat injuries when an opponent tries to force the helmet off without un-doing the chin strap. The potential for damage to the trachia and larynx is great. Injuries to those parts of the throat are no laughing matter. Also, since the advent of the full cage-mask, there is evidence which says the number of serious spinal col- umn injuries has increased among young hockey players. Some researchers have concluded that one reason may be that players wearing the full mask have no fear of crashing into the boards or using their head as a kind nent. I have seen players throw themselves head-first into an on-rushing opponent, rather than use the old fashioned body check with hip or shoulder. I'm not saying for one minute that the full cage- mask hasn't been a good thing for hockey, especially the very young players who are constantly falling against sticks and blades. But for older players I wonder if the same protec- tive results could not be achieved by partial masks which cover the eyes, and guards worn inside the mouth to protect the teeth. That would leave some of the face exposed. A paper hero might not be so inclined to tangle with the other team's guy, that he could get a painful punch in jaw. A player with the -mask and mouth guard might not be so quick to body-check head first. And players might not be so quick to cross-check, high-stick and throw elbows to the face and head know- ing they could easily break a guy's jaw or cheek bone in the process. It might put a little common sense back in the game. Years ago, when face-masks were not worn, players were not so reckless in their style. Most players would not throw themselves head first in front of a slap shot. It just wasn't worth it. They played with a ous or ious awareness of the potential for facial in- juries, their own and their ts. In all my years of playing the sport without a face-mask, I was never high-sticked or cross-checked in the face, nor do I ever remember any of these kind of blatant infractions which (Turn to page 6) Arena Dances We are pleased to hear that Durham Region Health Unit is prepared to "be flexible" when it comes to Health Act regulations pertaining to licenced dances and func- tions held at the Scugog Arena during the summer months. As we all know, several groups and organizations have long used the arena to hold dances and other ~ events with the net profits used for various community activities. There was some concern this month by a letter from the Health Unit which stated there are only sufficient sanitary facilities at the arena for a maximum of 450 patrons at a dance. For a dance where there could be 1200 patrons and light food served, the Health Unit letter said that accor- ding to the regulations there would have to be a minimum of 26 water closets and 12 hand-basins. The arena has nowhere close to that number of washroom facilities. However, an inspector with the Health Unit has said that by opening up the washrooms in the dressing rooms and/or utilizing portable toilets, this would be sufficient. To our knowledge, there have never been any com- plaints about the arena washroom facilities from people attending dances. And the arena is hooked up to sanitary sewers, rather than septic systems which could present problems with heavy use in a short period of time.. We respect that the Health Unit has an important function in maintaining certain standards to protect the general public. But we wonder about Ontario Regulation 840, Food Premises which indicated that 26 water closets and 12 basins would be needed for 1200 patrons at a dance. Surely, this is not meant to apply to something like a dance at an arena which might last five hours at the most. The arena dances are an important way of raising money for several community organizations. Let's hope they are not in jeopardy. Dirty Tricks? Although members of the Conservative Party of Canada have publicly expressed outrage at revelations last week that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had hired investigators to look into the business affairs of Tory leader Brian Mulroney, we suspect that Mr. Mulroney and his colleagues are privately having a chuckle over the affair. If the allegatiaons are true, that the PMO sent an investigator to Washington to poke around the affairs of Iron Ore Corp's parent company, and also ordered a ti- tle search on Mulroney's home in Montreal, then this would seem to be proof of what the polls have been tell- ing us: namely that the Liberals are in very deep trouble and will be wiped out by the Tories in the next federal election. That the PMO would authorize what appear to be some rather sleazy undertakings against Mr. Mulroney's personal life and affairs, is sinking pretty low in the world of politics, and almost puts one in mind of the Richard Nixon White House days with its squad of "plumbers"" and their dirty tricks. Anyone in public life has to expect that politics can become a little rough and tumble at times. That comes with the territory. But just what kind of "dirt" did these investigators hope they would dig up on Mr. Mulroney, and more importantly perhaps, how would it be used by the Liberal Party. And the very obvious question that needs to be answered (but won't) is whether the Prime Minister knew anything of these actions, or indeed if he ordered them. Liberal Party officials have tried to dismiss the allegations by saying there is nothing wrong in compil- ing information from the public record. If there was nothing wro ig with what the Liberals are doing why was it 80 secretive that one of the investigators was not allow- ed to use (he Parliamentary Library because he would have had to reveal his identity. Maybe all these allegations about covert operations with secret code names (Opwatch), title searches, and investigators poking around at public expense, is mak- ing a mountain out of a mole hill. But there is a lingering smell about it all, and just one more indication that the current Liberal Government is grabbing at any straws it possibly can fo somehow stay in power beyond the next election.