An hour after the end of a fiercely contested AIHL Grand Final, something unique occurs. Not only do members of the vanquished team join the rejoicing champions they just battled, but fans, staff and players from all the Finals teams mingle, sharing a beer and talking hockey and life.
That precious hour is a celebration of hockey and the league, undertaken by people who get few chances for such catch-ups.
The AIHL All-Star Weekend offers another opportunity for fans, players and officials from all the league’s clubs to compete and socialise together and celebrate the remarkable sporting anomaly they help create – a truly national, but wholly amateur competition which draws pros from all around the world.
This year’s mid-season schedule enhances the event, with every club still in contention and the season’s narrative yet to unfurl.
The novelty of the All-Star Weekend lies in discovery.
Not only do arch-rivals suddenly pass to each other and congratulate each other on goals, [O’Kane from Powell and Armstrong, anyone?] the skills challenges expose the personalities lurking beneath the helmets [as a star suited up as a Minion proved last year in Newcastle]. Even better, in the finest tradition of this most approachable league, all the participants are available for a chinwag with fans at the Saturday night soirée.
At every turn, there is a surprise. Supposedly bitter rivals sharing a laugh; supposed lesser lights out-pacing big names; guys your rink painted as villains proving most friendly off ice.
Hockey possesses a humble culture compared to sports such as basketball, with overt skiting often frowned upon. Even superstar talents learn that team strategies supersede individual theatrics. And the physical demands of hockey seem to ensure that showboating is minimized.
But the skills required to play at an elite level are amazing, and All-Star skills challenges allow individuals to showcase their virtuosity. Breakaways, accuracy and speed challenges, puck control. The challenges strip out some of the elements that make us gasp during games, and remind us of their intrinsic delights.
The All-Star Game showcases talents from around the world who are plying their wares in Australia because they want to embrace this country and its people. It reminds us of just how well our best homegrown talent stacks up against stars from North America and Europe.
Both imports and locals play for the love of the game and enjoy chatting to the fans who enable this league to thrive, most clubs encouraging their players to mix with fans after home games.
But in a league subject to the tyranny of big Australian distances and the necessity to race to the airport for flights home, there are all too few occasions for the league’s players to get together.
Watch an AIHL face-off closely and you often see amiable banter between opponents who just slammed into each other, and are about to do so again. Often it’s two locals who only meet at annual national camps. Or two pros who played together in the SPHL, EIHL or in Europe.
All-Star Weekend enables such rivals to share insights into the particular challenges confronting each rink and team, and helps cross-fertilize ideas about training, sponsorship, recruitment and fan engagement.
Aside from all that worthy stuff, it is just plain fun. Which is why they play and we watch, after all.
The 2016 AIHL All-Star Weekend takes place in Penrith, NSW June 11
th-12
th. Tickets start at just $18.75 and are available now at
www.trybooking.com/JVIN.