If you’re getting older, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, stay fit and get a bit happier at the same time.
For Quinn Harris and a bunch of mostly retired guys and one gal, that happens twice a week when the seniors lace up their skates and go play pick-up hockey at Tilbury Arena.
Harris organizes the drop-in hockey, which now draws about a dozen players Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The games take place midweek, on mornings and afternoons, when minor hockey or figure skating doesn’t need the ice. That allows Harris to rent the arena for $160 an hour, instead of the usual $600 an hour, so the players only pay $10 for each session.
“We all come out. We all have a laugh. The ice is not even being used anyway,” he said. “It’s just a great workout. Everything is very smooth. It’s anybody. It’s not intense. It’s just a very relaxed skate.”
Despite hockey’s reputation, Harris said he’s never seen an injury in a lifetime of playing drop-in hockey. Everyone is welcome from any skill level or background. Plus, they always have two goalies.
“That’s the key,” he said.
You can go to any arena with drop-in hockey, but there’s not always two goalies, Harris points out.
In addition to the physical exercise, going for a skate is also good for your mental health.
When someone retires, that can also mean a loss of social connection.
“Because you quit (work), you have to have regular activities that are social. Any psychologist will tell you that,” he said, adding there’s lots of laughing and joking.
“It’s a very socially healthy thing.”
