Ice dance: Pond Hockey Classic urges safety on Meredith Bay

MEREDITH — The 11th Annual New England Pond Hockey Tournament will be held on Meredith Bay this weekend, but founder Scott Crowder said this will be the least amount of ice for the tournament without switching to a different location.

He urged players and spectators, expected to arrive in the thousands today, to alter their usual behaviors with safety in mind.

As of Wednesday morning, Crowder said that ice was measuring between more than a foot thick in some places to about eight inches thick. Though he was expecting the ice sheet to grow, thanks to cold overnight temperatures, he worried that recent warm-ups could have created some weak areas.

Crowder has been conferring with the state’s Fish and Game Department, as well as local safety officials, to alter the event’s usual practices in order to avoid discovering any weak spots.

“Everybody knows that it’s been a fluctuating year,” Crowder said. “Ice safety is a key factor of the event… we need the cooperation of the players coming down to participate in that.”

The Pond Hockey Classic’s bar will be moved from its usual on-the-ice spot to the parking lot at the Bay Point hotel. The Bank of NH Pavilion stage, with live music on Friday and Saturday nights, will do the same.

Crowder said participants will be asked to refrain from placing any ice shanties or bobhouses near the hockey rinks, and on-the-ice fires won’t be permitted. Spectators are encouraged to watch from the shore, where they’ll have great views of rinks 1 through 5.

“It never freezes uniformly, a lot of people don’t realize that,” Crowder said. “It’s not the year to be hanging out on the ice, it’s a year to enjoy the bars and restaurants in the area.”

Crowder, who grew up in a hockey family and was barely out of college when he started the New England Pond Hockey Classic, did so to give fans of the sport a chance to experience it at its roots: playing with a group of friends, in the open air and on natural ice, with all of its perfect imperfections. His idea caught fire, and every year since teams have raced to register as soon as the sign-up period opens. Now, the three-day hockey festival welcomes more than 2,200 players, who come from all over eastern North America to play the game they love.

And, each year, Mother Nature seems to find another way to mess with Crowder’s plans. Last year, he had a solid sheet of ice but had to contend with a snowstorm that came just before players were due to arrive. Twice, he’s had to relocate from the convenient and quaint Meredith Bay to the more reliable ice on Lake Waukewan.

“Every single year we’re reminded why hockey is played indoors,” Crowder said with a chuckle.

“We want people to be smart, but to know that the event is going to be what people expect of it.” There will still be all of the normal activities and amenities, but some will be on solid ground instead of on the ice. “We just have to think about it and roll with the punches.”