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At ESSC, we're big believers in listening to the people who actually lace it up and play in our leagues. The most meaningful improvements come directly from player feedback, which helps us ensure we are delivering the best experience possible. In our Ball Hockey leagues, we’ve recently introduced several updates driven by feedback gathered through End of Season Surveys, emails, phone conversations, and word of mouth. We’re excited to highlight these improvements and continue building a better league experience.
Say goodbye to balls slipping through the netting of our old PVC corner boards (RIP to those janky ol' things), these new fabric boards are here to stay! Players have surely noticed the upgraded corner boards that have been brought out to select facilities, and after the strong feedback we have received we are happy to announce that they will be rolling out to our remaining Ball Hockey facilities in the near future. These upgraded boards create a much cleaner, more professional look while improving game flow to make for a seamless experience whistle to whistle.
But that's not all, building on the momentum of the investment in our new corner boards, we've also trialed new team benches at CCCC this Winter season. These benches were introduced to provide teams with a more comfortable, organized space between shifts. After receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback, we’re excited to expand the rollout and bring additional benches to facilities that do not yet have them.
Over the past several years, we have recieved strong and often conflicting feedback from our players regarding gender balance in our co-ed Ball Hockey leagues. In particular, there was a wide range of opinions as to whether female goalies should or should not count towards the minimum females requirement. Before the starting faceoff for the Winter 2026 season, a survey was sent out to all Female Ball Hockey players to gauge opinions on this rule. After hearing directly from the players, the rulebook will continue to dictate that female goalies do count towards the female minimum required to be on the playing surface at all times.
DOM stick shafts with plastic blades have been the requirement for Ball Hockey players to use in our leagues since 2008. While plastic blades were to remain a requirement regardless, a consideration was being made prior to the Fall 2025 season to allow players to use whichever shaft type that they prefer. After summarizing the results, you can put away the hacksaws and the composite sticks, everyone. It is to remain a requirement to use DOM stick shafts going forward.
Much of the feedback that we recieved from those who wanted to use different stick shafts citied the lack of availability for purchasing DOM sticks as part of their reasoning. DOM sticks will now be available for purchase during the registration process, or upon request through emailing or calling our head office. We want to ensure that the sticks we require players to use in our leagues remain accessible for all!
Huge shoutout to all our Ball Hockey players who shared thoughts, opinions, and ideas along the way. Your feedback helps guide everything from league rules to equipment upgrades. We’re excited about the changes we’ve made so far and we will continue to evolve season after season. Thanks for being part of the ESSC community and helping make our leagues the best that this city has to offer!
