Pond Hockey Classic reaches a milestone

MEREDITH — When he first described his idea for the New England Pond Hockey Classic, Scott Crowder said, some of the town’s officials viewed him with a healthy dose of skepticism.

“It wasn’t easy, I wouldn’t say they were overly supportive,” Crowder said in an interview this week. But that was 10 years ago. Crowder quickly earned the support of the town’s municipal and business leaders, who saw that his vision of hosting a weekend of hockey, on natural ice and open to the winter elements, would reliably bring thousands of visitors to Meredith during what would otherwise be a slow time of year.

This year’s Pond Hockey Classic, the 10th Annual, will take place Feb. 1 through 3 on Meredith Bay.

It’s understandable that they would have reserved their enthusiasm that first year. After all, Crowder was a recent college graduate who was unknown to them.

Crowder knew Meredith, though, because his family had spent summers here while he was growing up. And he knew hockey. Crowder’s father, Bruce, played for the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, then had a collegiate coaching career. His uncle, Keith Crowder, also played for the Bruins. Scott Crowder played for University of Massachusetts–Amherst while he was earning his degree in sports management.

It was just after graduating that he brought his idea to Meredith. What do hockey buddies like to do? Get together for an afternoon or a weekend at someone’s lakehouse, shovel off a patch of ice and put on their skates. What if Crowder could provide that experience?

That first year, Crowder stayed in a family friend’s lakeside home while he organized the tournament. The home had not been winterized, so he had to carry water from the lake to the home in order to wash dishes and flush toilets. “It was crazy. I’d sneak into the hotel to shower,” he said. And he had never hosted an event of any kind, so he was learning as he went.

And it went great. “We created seven rinks out there, and people showed up.” The 77 teams that came that first year, 2010, clamored to come back, and they talked many of their friends into joining them. Each year for the first five years, Crowder slowly expanded, and for the past several years he has welcomed 280 teams, with 2,250 players, and many more who come to watch a family member compete or just take in the spectacle.

“It’s a 98-percent return rate,” Crowder said. He isn’t eager to expand the New England Pond Hockey Classic any further, because he is concerned about taking up too space, both on Meredith Bay and in local hotels, bars and restaurants.

He does seek to refine each year, though. Recent improvements include new rink boards, better equipment for building and maintaining the 26 rinks. This year will feature a larger on-ice beer tent and a larger stage for the Bank of NH Pavilion music venue. On Saturday evening, a 10th Anniversary party will be held at Church Landing. The party is open to the public, with the $10 entry fee going to the nonprofit Restore Sports.

Crowder has tried to replicate the success he’s found in Meredith elsewhere. He held similar tournaments in Montana, and in New York City, but those didn’t build the same kind of momentum. However, Crowder will be heading to Lake Champlain, in Vermont, later in February for the 8th Annual Pond Hockey Classic there.

One of Meredith’s greatest advantages, Crowder has found, is that it has a name-brand lake, Winnipesaukee, with a ready back-up in Lake Waukewan, which is less than a mile away. For two out of the nine previous years in Meredith, Crowder has had to hold the event on Waukewan because Meredith Bay’s ice wasn’t thick enough. It’s not the same atmosphere, he said, but he can still give his guests what they signed up for several months prior.

“It’s amazing that we have a ‘Plan B’ that close,” he said.

Things are looking good for this year, though. But with just over a week of New England weather yet to unfold, Crowder’s optimism remains cautious. This year’s weather, with more than a foot of snow, followed by rain just a few days later, was relatively easy for him and his crew to deal with.

“Every year, we are quickly reminded why hockey is played indoors,” Crowder said.

All of his headaches and efforts about ice preparation and snow removal are appreciated, apparently. The first year that he offered the tournament, there were 77 slots and 45 on a waiting list. For the 2011, season, he increased the size to 152 teams, and had 100 on the waiting list. That’s the way it’s gone each year – the more people experience his tournament, the more of their friends want to join for the following.

Crowder credited his success to a small operation. “We don’t run this by committee,” he said. Instead, it’s him and his wife, Chelsea, who is also a UMass-Amherst sports management grad, and a couple of operations managers. They will then take on additional help when it comes time for the tournaments.

The demand for expansion is “definitely there,” Crowder said, but he said he doesn’t want to get too big. “From our team’s perspective, what our product is, we want to execute it well. We need to make sure that we’re good neighbors and that our time here has a positive impact.”

Positive Impact

A couple of people who have decades of expertise in the Meredith economy said that the pond hockey tournament has become a dependably good weekend during a time of year that is usually challenging for hospitality businesses.

Jeanie Forrester, who currently serves on the town selectboard, was the executive director of the Greater Meredith Program when Crowder started the tournament.

“I think what is really neat about it is how sustainable it is, he’s really built on the success,” she said. Forrester said she supported the concept from the beginning. “I thought it was a cool idea. As executive director of the Greater Meredith Program, we were always looking at economic activity and economic development in the town and recognizing that the winter months are slow. When he came forward and brought this idea I thought it was great. He had a vision and it’s worked out well for the community and the businesses.”

Susan Cerutti, executive director for the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce, has been with the chamber for more than 30 years and said she quickly realized what the tournament represented – her chamber gave Crowder an award for his efforts after just his first or second year, she said.

“Obviously it brings a lot of people to town, the spectators love watching it. It’s just good all around… It just adds one more thing in the winter, a reason for people to come to Meredith. It’s a happy event, a positive event, from a business standpoint it brings people to town and they end up having a good weekend when they might not have otherwise,” said Cerutti.