315 long, cold, endless, bum-numbing hours.
From September to March, each year, it's the same routine, every day of the week and most weekends: load up the gear, get in the car, drive, drive some more, keep driving, arrive at arena early, sit, wait, watch, freeze, cheer, freeze some more, load up gear, get in car, drive, drive and drive some more. Then repeat.
Yes, this is life in Canada as a rep hockey parent, and I am not alone. If you add up the parents of kids in house league hockey, rep hockey, figure skating, speed skating, skating lessons, curling and other ice sports, hundreds of thousands of Canadian parents are doing much of the same - essentially freezing their baguettes off for what can amount to (in my case) 315 hours, 13 entire days of one's life spent in an arena (not including playoffs and tryouts and summer camps). And it is awesome!!!
If you're spending approximately 11.25 passive hours per week in a vast, steel, fluorescent-lit meat-locker desperately searching for cell phone coverage, scarfing a Jamaican patty purchased from a heated concession carousel, let me help you. This is an intervention. I'm here to not only tell you that there is a way to survive this dreary parenting fate, there's a way to thrive in an arena setting!!!
Here are some tips and tricks that every parent (or spectator, carpooler, angry-tag-along-sibling, relative and friend) needs to know in order to make the best of what I like to call, Canada's 5th season.
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| It's that time again... |
GET PREPARED:
You've been there - 20 minutes from home, at the arena, racing frantically and rooting around a smelly equipment bag with junior in the locker room searching for ______(fill in the blank) and you know darn well in the pit of your stomach that said-missing-item is sitting on the floor in your front hall. That's why savvy parents always keep an S.O.S. bag in the car, for those "uh oh" moments. Canadian Tire sells all sorts of neat items that will save the day on more than one occasion (if not yours, then another parent/child's!). Keep a bag stocked with a hand-held skate sharpener, extra skate laces, hockey tape (which can MacGyver you in and out of many situations!), a repair kit for helmets, extra hockey socks and neck guard (these items are almost always missing from someone's bag).
GET WARM:
My grandmother used to warn that sitting on a cold bench would give you haemorrhoids. And while there's no scientific research to support that claim, I can assure you that "numb-bum" is a very real, very uncomfortable condition affecting all spectators sitting on metal bleachers in ice-cold arenas. But there is a cure. Have a grab-n-go arena bag in your car at all times that you can count on for comfort. Stock it with a large fleece blanket (preferably in team colours!), a large insulated mug (you will be consuming a ton of hot liquids - I bring my own box of peppermint teabags), toe-warmers, hand-warmers (Zippo Hand Warmer is amazing or you can have those throw-aways), fluffy mitts, and a warm scarf to kill the chill from the refrigeration unit that inevitably ends up blasting directly onto the back of your neck. You can even buy seat-warmers - a soft microwaveable cushion to keep your tookus toasty.
Forget fashion. Arenas are no place for trends and coiffed tresses. Get yourself to Sportchek and snag some ultra warm boots (Sorel, North Face), some knit pants for her (Under Armour), a fleece hoodie and gloves for him (Nike Tech Fleece Hero Hoodie $210.00, Under Armour ColdGear gloves, $29.99) and hunker down against the cold. Some arenas have button-activated, gas-powered overhead heating units for "spectator comfort". However, I think that they are engineered to function the same way as crosswalk buttons (i.e., they don't function, but it sure is fun hammering the button endlessly while trying to quell your inner rage).
GET CONNECTED:
So now that you've got 13 days of your life to kill in an arena, might as well make it productive, right? Wrong - most arenas are so chock-full of metal bits, beams and roofing that even the smartest of smartphones will fail to carry any signal whatsoever. Plus, many phones with a metal casing will often just run dry of battery power trying to maintain warmth. What's a social-networking butterfly to do? First off, find a hot-spot - likely the lobby, parking lot or huddled in your car. Resign yourself to the fact that you may have to (gulp) disconnect from technology for the next 1-2 hours. If that thought terrifies you more than a slimy mouth-guard covered in black-fuzz, make your way to the rec centre's reception area and inquire about free Wi-Fi, or parent-lounges (yes, these do exist in some ultra-modern, wonderfully rare arenas!! Like unicorns, I want to believe in them but I've never actually seen one for myself).
GET ACTIVE:
If sitting on your duff endlessly just isn't your cup of peppermint tea, then why not make the most of your hours at the arena and get fit? I recently purchased a Nike Fitbit, laced up my sneakers and walked laps of the arena while my son did his team practice. Not only did I log 10,000 coveted steps, but I also got a bit of sweat going too. Some arenas also have full gyms connected to them (as part of a community centre). See if they offer a daily or hourly guest pass, or ask other parents on your team if they'd like to join you for a 30-minute walk outside. How much better would you feel knowing that you and your kid are getting exercise? Sometimes I get a full cardio and weight-training workout just hauling my son's 70 pound goalie bag around a parking lot aimlessly when I've forgotten where I parked the car! You should try it!
Parents of kids who play arena sports, we're in this together! I would love to know what your survival tips are so please share them with me on Twitter @KasieSavage
Catch my segment on CTV's Canada AM: Wednesday, November 4th at 8:40am!
Click here to watch!
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