[color=red]SPRING SEASON MARCH 2005[/color]
All ice hockey players and fans are excited about the prospect of the new ice rink that is taking shape on Dunhwa North and Nanjing East Rds. A state of the art sports facility with an Olympic sized sheet of ice and seating for 1,000 spectators. The Taipei Big Egg will see the profile for Ice Hockey in Taipei explode when it opens for our FALL 2005 season. In anticipation of this occasion we are planning our final season at the TISA Ice Rink in Shitze.
We are delighted to launch the 2nd season of the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey League (CIHL) SPRING 2005
A real ice rink, right in downtown Taipei? First western groceries in Wellcome and now an ice rink…someone pinch me please, cause this has got to be a dream.
There should be thursday nite dropin ice hockey if you never played before but want to rent some equipment at the xijhr ice rink. About 50 NT per piece but no stick and no jock. Starts at 9:15pm on thurdays 500nt.
Ask for Geoff at www.monoclub.com.tw for more info and if you need hockey equipment at his store.
Can highly recommend Geoff’s Mono Club. My kids learned inline skating there. My Boy loves the Ice Hockey as well as the Land Hockey classes. I am surprised that he is so far the only foreign/mixed child that attends these classes. There is a growing number of local kids enjoying the game. If you are looking to provide you kids with some fun to do an excellent sport in Taipei, Ice Hockey certainly is. Most coaches speak a hillarious mix of English and Mandarin during classes that also provides entertainment to the freezing parents.
I have been living in Korea for two years and am moving to Taiwan in the fall. The prospects for a hockey team are slim here. Basically none if you are a woman. I am excited to here that this is not the case in Taiwan.
I don’t expect to be on a rough guys team because I won’t be able to check. Of course after 3 years of not playing I will have to work on my slapshot.
Otherwise, I played on my uni team in Canada and wouldn’t consider myself terrible. Is there a league/team that I would fit into? Should I bring gear or are my skates and gloves enough?
Not to worry; so far, the league is no contact. We had a couple ladies in our B-league last season and they were solid players. There is open ice every Thursday that would give you a chance to get back into the swing of it, so bring your gear (full equipment), watch the websites mentioned above and come on out when you get here.
I was a gaolie in my younger years, played in the Belgium juniors, second and recreational league for a while. I would like to play again but can’t make because of my business. If I can find someone to cover for me in the future I could think about playing again.
Need something exciting to do here, getting a little crazy after 8 years on the island.
So hockey has both evolved and devolved since the last post.
Gone is the highly successful CIHL. A few leagues have come and gone in attempts to replace it and after the dust has settled, a very inconsistent league has become the only option. Called the TIHL, they operate a meritocracy “A” League, currently over, and a club-based “B” league playing intermittent Sunday evenings slated to finish in June.
Our Foreigner-run club is called The Taipei Gentlemen’s Hockey Club or TGHC. We make up about 25% of the A league and have a team in the B League. We also attempt to rent the ice for a drop in session, but it is increasingly difficult to land a slot.
As for the evolution of hockey, the local men and women are really taking to the game. We have a full complement of National Teams, (U18, U20, Mens and Womens) run by the Ice Federation. We are fortunate to be invited to help these teams prepare for international competitions on Saturday nights where we match our very best western players against the Mens teams and our most recreational players give the ladies a challenge. The former is a hitting league and quite exciting. And the women, well, who doesn’t love “chicks with sticks”.
So if you love the game, are looking for a skate or just wanna hang out with a great bunch of people, join our Facebook group.
