Members of Peguis First Nation say hockey is the lifeblood of competitive sport in their community, but residents say it’s getting harder to keep kids in the game close to home. “School gets off at 4:00, soon as he gets off the bus, (he says) ‘can you take me to the arena, I want to go skate,’” said Marlene Favel, a member of Peguis First Nation on Thursday. Favel brought her godson Sterling to a protest outside Sport Manitoba to voice their concerns over Interlake minor hockey teams opting to play with Winnipeg clubs. “It has left the teams that are still in the Interlake with not enough teams to hold a league,” said Johnathon Flett, recreation director of Peguis First Nation. “To Hockey Manitoba and Interlake Minor Hockey Association, please hear our concerns.” This is the second consecutive season no U-15 and U-18 teams will have a hockey co-ed division within the Interlake. Teams in the region can only join Hockey Winnipeg clubs if they submit a request. As a result, some Peguis First Nation athletes have been forced to make the trek to Winnipeg like Favel’s godson. She brings him during the season now every week, driving more than two hours and nearly 200 kilometres from the First Nation. “He was upset and he said, ‘I don’t want to go play anywhere else, I want to play for home.’ I said we might not have a choice,” Favel said. “I wish the games were closer because it’s hard on my parents and other families,” said Brock Flett, a U-16 athlete from Peguis First Nation. Johnathon Flett said it is unclear what athletes from Fairford, Fisher River and Lake Manitoba First Nations will decide to do going forward. Officials from the Interlake Minor Hockey Association say it was a tumultuous off-season trying to keep everyone playing locally. However, they say some clubs blamed rough play, low enrollment and travel as some of their reasons for wanting out. “There’s concerns of not having referees on time, game delays, not showing up with enough skaters, there’s concerns on both sides,” said Chantel Finnbogason, director of Interlake Minor Hockey Association. Finnbogason said a number of teams from the north did not submit their registration on time this season and last season. She said their board is still working on trying to find a resolution. “The north associations, in particular Peguis, they are the ones who feel very strongly about keeping everybody together and I agree, that’s our overall goal and I’m going to continue to put in the work to try to bring everyone back together for next season,” Finnbogason said. Hockey Manitoba told CTV News following their most recent governance review, they do not control leagues. Decisions regarding starting and stopping leagues are left to individual regions and associations. They hope the best foot forward can be found for Interlake teams. “We want kids to be able to be included and feel included and have access to our sport,” said Boyd Canart, chair of the board of directors for Hockey Manitoba.
