Chicago, IL (1888PressRelease)
June 16, 2009 - The Springfield Youth Hockey Association of Springfield, Mo., was chosen as the inaugural winner of the USA Hockey Grow the Game Award, presented by Total Hockey. The award recognizes efforts to spread the game of hockey through various programs and initiatives.
In Springfield, coaches challenged their existing players to extend an invitation to their friends to see what hockey was all about. Each player distributed 30 Valentine’s Day cards to their friends, totaling more than 1,000 cards. Enclosed in each card was a coupon for a free skate at the local ice rink. In the first month, several hundred free skate cards were redeemed. Ice rink employees still see redemptions daily. SYHA uses the information provided on the free skate coupons to contact each skater individually and offer him/her the opportunity to join the youth hockey program.
In April, Total Hockey and USA Hockey challenged youth hockey associations nationwide to tell their stories of growing the game at a local level. Entries came from across the nation, describing endeavors about unique and creative ways to increase interest in hockey among America’s youth. Entries were judged on four criteria: creativity, media/marketing potential, transferability to other local programs interested in growing the game and the overall impact the program had on the local youth association. As the winning entry, SYHA received a $2,500 Total Hockey gift card.
USA Hockey will begin accepting applications for the 2010 Grow the Game Award, presented by Total Hockey, in the spring of 2010.
As the Exclusive Ice Hockey Equipment Retailer of USA Hockey, Total Hockey continues to help grow the game by encouraging hockey in the community and creating awareness of the sport, enhancing interest in the game among children and ultimately increasing involvement by learning to play hockey at a local level.
About Total Hockey
Total Hockey is a privately held hockey equipment retailer based in St. Louis, Mo., that is dedicated to providing the latest in hockey equipment, superior quality merchandise and excellent customer service. Founded in 1998, Total Hockey has embarked on a broad-scale expansion in specialty hockey operations and now has seven retail stores in the greater St. Louis and Chicago areas, as well as an e-commerce facility at totalhockey.net. For more information, call toll-free at 866.929.6699.
About USA Hockey
USA Hockey Inc., founded in 1936 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. With a membership of nearly 600,000 players, coaches, officials and volunteers that span all 50 states, USA Hockey seeks to promote the growth of hockey and provide the best possible experience for all participants by encouraging, developing, advancing and administering the sport.
For more information, visit usahockey.com.
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