William Douglas has been blogging at The Color of Hockey since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 where he writes about people of color in sports. Today he introduces us to the Challenger Series. The league was created by the hockey associations representing Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Lebanon to grow the sport within their communities in North America and their respective home countries.
Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Lebanon established their own hockey leagues.
Men's and women's teams representing U.S. territories, the Caribbean, and Middle Eastern countries will compete in the Challenger Series league, which begins April 18-21 at Fifth Third Arena, the Chicago Blackhawks' practice facility. .
League play will move to Clark Gillies Arena in Dix Hills, New York from June 6-9, followed by the Challenger Series Heritage Cup playoffs from July 11-13 at Campus Ice Center in Oshawa, Ontario. held on the day.
“Most of us [are] In our own way, we are blazing a path that has never been taken before,” said Scott Vargas, founding president of the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association and a forward on the men's national team. “I believe that if we all work together and work together, we can achieve more.
“This is the first attempt at a consistent schedule. Let's pool our resources together. It's essential for a developing (hockey) country to increase the visibility and credibility of your organization or federation within the country. And it's hard when you don't have consistent competition, and it's hard when that competition isn't at a quality level. This league is an opportunity for us to get that consistency.”
Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation President Don Anderson said the series will give the emerging hockey nation something it desperately needs.
“We're always eager to find opportunities,” Anderson said. The Challenger Series allows for three sets of matches this year alone. ”
Ricardo Tabet, general manager of the Lebanese men's national program, said the league is about preparation and exposure.
“We want people to talk about us and be interested,” Tabet said. “We're seeing more and more players saying, 'Hey, I'm Lebanese, I want to be a part of this.' Every time we hold an event like this, our player base continues to grow. So, this is my It's a really big deal for us.”
The Chicago-New York Challenger Series game will be part of PRIHA's annual Festival de Hockey weekend, featuring competition between the organization's youth development teams and adult programs. PRIHA also holds clinics and practice sessions for beginners and beginners on weekends.
“We know that focusing on the grassroots and the community is very important,” Vargas said. “And whether it's Chicago or New York, which has a rich Puerto Rican population and culture, we were able to incorporate that into Fiesta de Hockey.”
Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Lebanon each compete in the Amerigor Latam Cup, a primarily Latin American and Caribbean tournament held annually at the Florida Panthers' practice facility in Coral Springs, Florida. Puerto Rico's men's team won the LATAM Cup in 2022, and the women's team won in 2021. Jamaica's men's team won the LATAM title in 2019.
