Hello. I am aware that this might not be the best bulletin board, but it is a the only one I found searching the web.
I am trying to get an idea if there would be interest in playing some street/dek hockey in the west Toledo area. I am a huge ice hockey fan but never learned how to skate well enough to play. Also, I've checked some local ice rinks and there is not only a waiting list play on a team, but the skill level is very good amoung the players. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa, I played many, many games of pick-up street hockey on unused tennis courts and eventually an actual dek was built to play. A dek is an actual rink but it has a special plastic "waffle" surface for traction in all kinds of weather. Street and dek hockey are played the same as ice hockey except you don't wear skates, you run on foot, and a ball is used instead of a puck. Dek hockey is headquartered in Connecticut and has many tournaments throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Anyway, I've started a message board and I am going to make some flyers and put up around west toledo to see if there is an interest. If you know someone who enjoys hockey, but can't skate or find an ice league, direct them to me through the message board. If it turns out that there is no interest, I guess I'll be taking ice skating lessons for awhile. Here is a link to the message board
http://streetdekhockey.proboards52.com/index.cgi
Also, I'm searching for a semi abandon tennis court in the west toledo area. The ideal tennis court would be unused and I would contact the owner/operator to obtain the permit or permission to "run" some games there. Hopefully, like Pittsburgh, Pa, once this starts it will pick up steam and some investors will build a dek rink for the toledo area.
Thanks for your time and I hope I didn't hijack your message board.
Tom

The university of Toledo has a section used for hockey right off the main tennis courts by the football field and the library.
They might use inline skates though. You can get low profile skates with smaller wheels so it's a similar feel to being in shoes.
People used to play at Meadowvale School to w/o skates.
I'd rather have skates on anyway. Taking a puck with skates can break your foot. Even those balls can hit bone.
posted by charlatan on Mar 06, 2008 at 11:42:44 pm #