History of Broomball in Kingston
The Kingston Broomball League has been around longer than the Ontario Federation - approximately 35 years. In the 1970's it was eight teams strong and teams played occasionally in tournaments around Ontario.
Jim Thompson was our first league president and promoted a league that was vibrant and growing. Over time, one team continually won, leading to a division of levels of play, i.e. fun teams and competitive teams. Gradually rough play came in and a some teams opted to quit the league. The league was then down to six teams.
The league remained six teams strong well into the 1990's, then became the problem of aging players, with a lack of upcoming younger players. This eventually reduced the league to four to five teams, depending upon the year.
The introduction of an Ontario Co-Ed competitive regional and provincial championship aided the leagues more skilled players by providing an additional outlet for them. Kingston players have been on the Gold or Silver winning teams every year since then and attended the only Nationals for Co-Ed teams in 2000, finishing sixth overall.
The Kingston league has provided players and coaches to many teams playing in tournaments and has had players on winning teams at the Broomball World Championships, held every two years.
Kingston has had a strong tradition of skilled players, thanks in part to the local Canadian Forces Base - CFB Kingston, and the willingness of local players to develop their individual skills and talents.
Our small league has produced teams and players that have created a winning tradition that is recognized across the province of Ontario.
Our Kingston Co-Ed Broomball League continues to provide lively entertainment each and every Sunday evening and some Friday evenings throughout the winter months, that is free to all who wish to attend. Our home ice is at the Invista Centre (Friday night on the Rona Ice Pad and Sunday night on the Ambassador Ice Pad) - so why not come out and watch us play - you might even want to try it yourself!!