Parent hockey culture during "unsettled times": COVID-19 and the hockey community

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created restrictions on Canadian minor ice hockey that have transformed its social landscape. By conducting online interviews and surveys of hockey parents, we identified how families have struggled and adapted to these 'unsettled' times in the hockey community. Parents emphasized that minor hockey restrictions have negatively affected the psychological and physical well-being of their children as well as their hockey development. While a small minority of parents addressed these concerns by transgressing protocols to keep their children engaged in hockey, most parents responded by finding other activities for their children to participate in, often ones that can strengthen family bonds. The ability of parents to protect the well-being and hockey development of their children was significantly influenced by their socioeconomic status, which may have resulted in financial inequality in child health and minor hockey. Our findings can potentially inform future pandemic restrictions relevant to minor hockey.