ALL HOCKEY EQUIPMENT

When we first arrived at 'The Ice Zone' during our preview visit, we were apprehensive. The rink was small and the ice surface wasn’t very good. Nancy and I had been hoping that hockey would be an enticement for Max, a way to make the transition to Beijing easier for him. After all, we were going to uproot him from his friends, school and his beloved sports teams, and transplant him into a foreign culture. Looking around, we didn’t think Max would be impressed.

A few seconds after examining the rink, I shouted out to Nancy: “I recognize that pennant! Come see.”

Two years earlier, Max had played in the Bell Capital Cup tournament in Ottawa. A team from Beijing was going to play, but their hockey gear was lost in transit. A call had gone out to parents to see if they could spare some equipment for this wayward team; they had to make do with what was provided. Later, the hotel the team was staying at was set on fire by an arsonist. The team spent the night in emergency shelters (OC Transpo busses if I recall), and showed up late, lacking sleep, for the tournament.

Guess who won the tournament?

We were sold. We were moving to Beijing.

Get all your equipment to the game. My goalie equipment is heavy and a pain to carry to the rink but it is so easy with my SUT32.