A Glimpse of Steele County

 
It was kind of interesting on Saturday morning watching a group of young people on ice, with brooms and pushing a ball toward a net. In a way it was like ice hockey, but not really. It was called broomball.
And it is an event that the Blooming Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored at the ice rink south of Blooming Prairie High School. It is the first time that the Chamber has tried something like this. At least 20-25 youngsters, grades first through sixth were on the ice laughing, pushing the ball around and oh yeah, wiping out on the ice.
I don’t think the youth really cared what the score was, but just enjoyed being out in the sunshine and having some fun. At ice time on Saturday morning the temperature was a nice 36 degrees; a far cry from the past few weeks where weather temps were in the single digits and with the wind chill factor, in the negative digits.
My understanding is that broomball originated in Canada and is played in many countries around the world. There are two teams with six players on each side. On Saturday, I didn’t get an accurate count but I’m sure there were more than six players on each side. It didn’t matter they were still having fun.
Like many other games played on the ice, the object is to score more goals than the opponent by hitting the ball through the opponent’s net. Instead of using a hockey stick, the players were using a broom with bristles either cut off or covered with tape.
It looked like a lot of fun for the youth out on the ice. It was also enjoyable watching the parents and organizers taking in the atmosphere and seeing their children have a good time. Another new event in Blooming Prairie and it looks like another keeper for the Blooming Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce.