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| March 4, 2002
9th NARCh Season Kicks Off with a Bang in Oregon!
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The road to qualify for the 9th annual North American Roller Hockey Championships is a long and difficult one for players seeking the ultimate prize in roller hockey: the right to be called a NARCh Champion. But in order to compete for the coveted NARCh title at the Finals, your team must first compete in a regional qualifying tournament.
The first stop on the NARCh 2002 regional series is happening this weekend (March 1-3) in Beaverton, Oregon. Players from all over Oregon, and from as far away as California and Washington, are gathering at Beaverton Oregon’s Indoor Goals roller hockey facility. The Oregon tournament is the first of 24 regional NARCh tournaments held over the next four months.
The NARCh Oregon regional, held for the third time at Indoor Goals, features teams in the following divisions: Mite, Squirt, PeeWee, Bantam, Junior, Senior and Women.
The NARCh Finals, to be held July 27 through August 8 at the Xcel Energy Centre in St. Paul, Minnesota, will hopefully feature a good sampling of Oregon teams. “The sport has really taken off up here in the past year. New people are becoming interested in the sport and tournament roller hockey has really taken off,” according to Indoor Goals owner Todd Griswold. “For us to attract teams from Seattle and Northern California is really great,” Griswold continued.
“Based on the enthusiasm we see in Oregon this weekend, I think that the sport is poised to really take off in the Pacific Northwest,” commented NARCh’s Alex Brown. “The growth of roller hockey organizations in this region, such as Mt. Hood, Bend and Indoor Goals, has created a large pool of tournament quality teams, and, at the same time, increased the competitive spirit of the players,” Brown continued.
“It’s a nice change of pace to travel up here and compete against teams that we don’t normally get to play in Northern California,” according to the ProJoy Roadrunners Geline Kockrow. “After traveling south to play in tournaments least a dozen times a year, it’s nice to head north and compete against new teams in Oregon,” commented Roadrunners coach Phil Schweiger. The Roadrunners brought their bantam and junior teams to the Oregon regional. The Mavericks, another top California organization, also make the trip north, bringing their squirt and bantam teams from San Jose.
“Discipline and hard work. That’s what it takes to be successful at the NARCh level,” according to Rob McGinlay of the Mt. Hood Thunder. McGinlay, who brought nine teams to the Oregon regional, should know. “We started our league six years ago and it took off from there”, the Detroit native said. “Unlike a lot of coaches, I take the teams for the experience and the fun, which is what it’s all about.”
The 9th NARCh season is sponsored by the top companies in the sport. 2002 Platinum sponsors include Hyper, Mission, Nike, Sport Court and Tour. Gold sponsors include Athletica, CCM, Nexed and Apeels. Silver Sponsors include BSB Bearings, Labeda Wheels, Pro Joy and Rocket Puck.
Oregon Regional Scores - Fri-Sat, March 1-3
Oregon Regional Photos And Videos
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