Rugby Ice Hawks | Rugby Amateur Hockey Association

FILTERS FAREWELL

RING—RING

HELL0

HI-how ya doing?

Good-how about you?

OK—Guess what I did today!!!!

I don’t know, what?

I signed the boys up for hockey.

Hockey? Where?

Here in Rugby.

I didn’t even know there was hockey in Rugby.

I just found out they have an arena behind the Econo Lodge Motel.

This was part of a conversation that took place about 13 years ago that was the beginning of a journey that would completely change the way of life for a family of four. At the time, I was an over the road truck driver who was home only on weekends.

Suddenly, my already overworked wife, found herself coming home from work to dress one boy & get him to practice only to run home & feed & dress the other one to get him to the rink, and bring the 1st one home to feed him & get him ready for bed, & go back to get the other boy.

It was my good fortune to come home on the weekend to hear her say that she was tired of running to the rink & that I was to take them to the games. (I got the best of that deal!!!)

After a while, I was fortunate to get a local job, where I would be around more & I found myself learning more about this game that I had previously thought was only played in Canada!! Also I found myself being sucked further and further into the association. It wasn’t long before I was helping plan tournaments, running the score clock, keeping score, and running the Zamboni. I also learned things like there is such a thing as right & left handed sticks, straight or curved blades, hard & soft ice, warm & cold arenas, and sharp or dull skates.

Also you learn things about your family. You learn how your children can work hard & know what it is to reap the benefits of this hard work and to work with others to achieve a common goal. Parents can benefit from donating their time to make it happen for their children. Also, on those long rides to and from those distant games, you have your child as a captive audience for hours at a time where you can engage in conversations that you might never have otherwise. It is an excellent time to impart on them the vast knowledge that you have acquired throughout the years, and hopefully you can learn a lot about them.

Now, after 13 years with the club, I have found myself at a point where my youngest is playing on the Jr. Gold team as a senior!!! I look back now and remember all the bars that my wife has made, all the time she has spent at the rink, all the time we have spent on road trips, in motels (time that we spent together as a family) and I get a bit teary eyed. I can hardly believe that this is going to be our last year with this wonderful sport. But as long as I can get my knees to bend I will try to keep playing “old timers hockey” (oh, yea, they even got me on the ice over the years), and we have a couple of nephews just coming up through the ranks, so we will not be far from the rink!!!

I guess I just wanted to thank the Rugby Hockey Association for all the great people I have met and worked with, and also thanks to Aaron(#5) and Andy(#23) for all the wonderful memories. Oh, and also thank you so very much to my wife, Shaana(#1), for signing our boys up for hockey. The journey has been good!!!

Thank you,

Grampa Filter

A few things that I have learned along the way—

Forgetting to remove the hose from the zamboni before backing out onto the ice will get you lots of attention.
Be wary of an old wrestling coach who says “I think it is just out of joint-let me pull on it.”
A zamboni traveling across the ice by itself will be a distraction to someone conducting a meeting in the concession area.
If someone takes a vacuum cleaner apart get one of the women to help put it back together.
If you have a tournament in Devils Lake, the fish will bite only while your games are being played.
Check the front of the zam for any signs that may have been placed there.
If you are the scorekeeper, shut off the microphone after making announcements.
RAHA has the best B-B-Q’s.

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ICEHAWK HISTORY

Determination, commitment and a vision prompted Rugby hockey enthusiasts in the early 1980's to get the puck sliding for a hockey program that blossomed into the success it is today.

A hockey program in the Rugby School District was not financially feasible, but that did not deter the hockey boosters. Today the Rugby Amateur Hockey Association is an affiliate of the North Dakota Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey.

The development of the 25-year-old hockey program is to be respected. The humble beginnings included using three outdoor rinks, with a dozen or so parents committed to provide the sport not only for their own children but any interested youth in the community.

The first rink with wood side-boards, lights and a warming house was located at the then-Optimist Park, now the Eagles Park.

In 1988 Rugby's dream of having its own indoor arena came true. Local lending institutions shared a loan for $90,000 and the association raised $50,000, for a total price tag of $140,000.

Very little of the labor for the project was hired. Community contractors donated their time and labor to construct the current building. Volunteer work is still an important part of the association today through workers to improve and make repairs to the arena and coaches. "We still do not have any paid employees hired to maintain the rink", Sedo said.

A big breakthrough for the association came in 1993 when independent contributor, Al Wentz, provided a refrigeration system to produce artificial ice, allowing a longer skating season. This resulted in Rugby being able to host state tournaments and for the players to compete at home with the NDAHA League.

Along with hockey teams for youth 3 years of age through high school, there is an adult team for the men, one for the women, open skating for the community to enjoy, and the ice can be rented for group parties upon request.

Indeed, the entire community can be proud of the countless time, money and support people in the community, and many more no longer here, committed to seeing hockey become an established part of Rugby. It has provided another positive activity for youth and adults during the long winter season. It has given an economic boost to businesses by hosting tournaments which bring in many people from out of the area. And it has displayed how a community can come together and create something positive.

Courtesy of the Pierce County Tribune

Hawks Nest News

Skating Begins

The ice is in the lines and circles are down and the boys are back. We would like to thank all those who gave of their time to help getting things ready. A special thank you is in order to Gary Lee for manning the fire hose. Although there is a lot of other work done to get to that point, I always feel that the season begins when Gary finally drags out the hose and starts flooding. While he did have some help, I noticed that there had been fifty two floods prior to putting in the stripes & circles after which we started using the zamboni. Off hand I would say that Gary did better than 90% of those floods at all hours of the day, while also maintaining his own buisness(The Rugby Floral And Greenhouse). When does he sleep?? Such dedication from someone who no longer has kids in the program cannot go unnoticed.

Thank you Gary.