Odds are that any American born hockey player for a U.S. college hockey team got his start playing AHAUS hockey in a community rink. Odds are that community rink was built with federal funds from the Outdoor Recreation Act signed by Jack Kennedy in April of 1962. If that rink is in a small town almost certainly it was built with federal funds.
Those rinks - and there are a mess of them - are approaching 50 years in age. They won't get any federal help for repair, and there is little chance of new government funded rinks. Introduction to hockey, access to ice time, and development of hockey skills is likely to decrease in small-town USA unless privatization replaces the influence of the ORA.
Those rinks - and there are a mess of them - are approaching 50 years in age. They won't get any federal help for repair, and there is little chance of new government funded rinks. Introduction to hockey, access to ice time, and development of hockey skills is likely to decrease in small-town USA unless privatization replaces the influence of the ORA.
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