St. Ignace BroomBowl Fields Seven Teams, Generates $1,516 for Recreation
By Paul Gingras

Seven teams competed in the day-long broomball tournament. The sport of broomball is much like hockey except broomsticks and a rubber ball are used instead of hockey sticks and a puck and players do not wear skates. (Photograph courtesy of Tracy Hostetler)

The first St. Ignace BroomBowl Tournament drew 64 players to a rink of snow in the parking lot of the Driftwood Sports Bar Saturday, January 20. Players enjoyed more than nine hours of competition and generated $1,516, which will be used to augment the city's recreation equipment stockpile, said event coordinator Ryan Schlehuber, who worked with local volunteers and Erica Cena of the City of St. Ignace Recreation Department.

Broom ball is played like hockey, but without hockey sticks, skates, or a puck, Mr. Schlehuber explained. Instead, players use brooms and a ball and play on ice or snow without skates.

In this case, the tournament was held on "just enough snow," he said. Players used official broom ball sticks, which have hand-sized, rubber pads at the ends. The ball in play was slightly larger than a grapefruit.

Organizers used the available snow at the Driftwood to make the playing surface and a border around the rink. The event lasted from noon to almost 10 p.m.

The champion of the first St. Ignace Broom Ball Tournament, played at the Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace Saturday, January 20, was the team lead by Landon Snyder, which defeated Mackinac Grille's Brew Crew in an overtime shoot-out. The championship team consisted of (front, from left) Holly Cole, Amy Tatrow, both of St. Ignace, Steve Kohn of Rockford, Rachael Coe of Grand Rapids; (back) Curtis Roberts, team captain Landon Snyder, and Mark Massey, all of St. Ignace.

The winning team was led by Landon Snyder of St. Ignace, which won in a shoot-out with the team led by Mark Sposito of St. Ignace.

In the shoot-out, each team's goalie went one-one-one with an opposing player. The two teams in the finals went six rounds before the outcome was finally decided, with Snyder's team winning the tournament on a goal by Rockford native Steve Kohn.

"It was a phenomenal tournament, better than expected," Mr. Schlehuber said, adding that he received a lot of support and volunteer assistance from community members. Mr. Schlehuber hopes to hold the event again next year.

Broom ball was popular in St. Ignace, until three consecutive, low-snow winters caused the sport to die out in the late 1980s or early '90s, Mr. Schlehuber said. Previous games also took place at the Driftwood.

"It was great to raise money for community recreation equipment, but I just wanted to play broom ball and I heard other people wanted to, as well," he said, adding that he would like to hold weekly games and eventually establish a league.

More than a dozen local businesses sponsored the event, including Waste Management, which donated $450 to buy 16 official broom ball sticks, three balls, and 12 helmets, which are now a permanent part of the Recreation Department's equipment stockpile.

Players paid $15 to compete. Volunteers did everything from refereeing to surrounding the rink with cars and using their headlights to light the field after sunset. St. Ignace residents Todd Insley, Chris Paquin, and Ryan Green volunteered to make the nets, which was made out of two-byfours and snow fencing.

Mr. Schlehuber and Miss Cena will assess the recreation department's needs and decide what type of equipment to buy with the profits from the event.

All in all, "everybody loved it," Mr. Schlehuber said.