Pond Hockey Runs on Volunteer Power

SEELEY LAKE – Over a seven-year period, what started as an opportunity for friends to play broomball on Seeley Lake has grown into an officially sanctioned Pond Hockey Tournament. The Jan. 6-8 event featured four playing rinks and 44 competing teams. The tournament's Volunteer Coordinator Lynn Mitchell said, "Without our volunteers, it would not happen."

From top to bottom, the event is run by unpaid workers. At the top of the volunteer roster is Event Coordinator Megan Lindemer. Her duties include sending out announcements of the event and handling subsequent correspondence with the teams, coordinating with the USA Hockey Association to get player numbers, scheduling dates and times for team match-ups, making sure the Seeley Lake Pond Hockey Tournament (SLPH) website stays up-to-date, creating score cards, ordering player jerseys as well as apparel and merchandise for souvenir sales. Lindemer also organizes the summer golf tournament that raises money to purchase the jerseys.

"There's a lot that goes into it," Lindemer said. "But I have a lot of help. For one thing, I have Lynn who organizes all the volunteers – I could not do this without her. I really couldn't."

Mitchell said she and her husband Pat are big hockey fans. The first year of the tournament they went as spectators. By the third year she was in charge of recruiting volunteers, training them and juggling their work schedules. Mitchell said about 50 percent of the volunteers are returnees, though this year there were a large number of new people. In total, Mitchell worked with 35 volunteers this year and said that doesn't count the prep group who sculpted the ice into rinks over a period of weeks and set up what she calls the "village."

SLPH founder and premier volunteer Mike Lindemer is in charge of recruiting and working with the rink-forming and village set-up crews. The village consists of changing tents for the players, a merchandise and beer tent, a sound system, lighting for night games, warming furnaces and strategically placed warming bonfires for spectators.

Mitchell said the volunteers work in all kinds of weather. "We've done it in rain, we've done it in warm when you don't have to wear coats. We've done it in the snow when you can't even see. And there's that time when it's perfect. But we do it no matter what. You just have to dress for it."

Saturday morning's sub-zero temperatures did warrant a two-hour delay before the games commenced. However, when the temperature stopped threatening frostbite, Mike Lindemer still passed out hand warmers to the game timers to keep their cell phone batteries from freezing and interrupting the stopwatch function.

Though about 75 percent of the volunteers were needed as timers and score keepers for the 92 games that were played Friday through Sunday, Mitchell said there are "tons" of jobs. People who want to help but can't handle the cold were assigned to jobs inside Lindy's Prime Steak House registering players or supplying information to spectators about which team is playing where or providing information about the Seeley Lake area.

Mitchell said some of the volunteers were hockey enthusiasts who want to encourage the sport while others had never seen a pond hockey game and wanted to learn about it. Most of the volunteers were local residents, although some came from Missoula and a few from even farther away. Among those traveling a distance were Rachel and Jesse Schrock from Great Falls, Mont. Rachel is Mitchell's goddaughter and she said she and her husband got talked into working as timer and score keeper. Since this was their first time at the event, they received some initial supervision and soon were ready to officiate on their own.

When asked about their experience, Jesse said, "It's a blast. I love the comradery of all the players and the friendly competition."

Rachel laughed and said, "He's already told me we're coming back next year."

Another volunteer new to pond hockey was Karen Wilson who formerly worked at Rejuvenate Physical Therapy and Massage and now lives in Missoula. Wilson said she enjoyed the experience.

Referring to the many comments and directives shouted by teammates and spectators, Wilson said, "I was surprised at how noisy it is and how aggressively they play."

On Saturday Wilson was paired with new volunteer Whitney Leibenguth of Florence, Mont. who said she was amazed at how well organized the tournament was. She said, "I've read about [SLPH] in the news. I've heard about it for years. I just think it's awesome the way they're organized. I think Megan has done a marvelous job. Everything just seems to move very well. The teams roll with it. They just stay on schedule."

Some of the local volunteers included Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) teachers Duane Schlabach and Kelsi Luhnow. Luhnow is a third-year returnee. Since a portion of the proceeds from the tournament are given to SLE to help fund kinetic activities such as skiing and biking, Luhnow said she volunteers at the tournament as a way to show her appreciation and support.

Luhnow said, "I've been a score-keeper, timer, beer pourer - I've done almost everything. It's fun to volunteer here. You get to see exciting games. It's a different way of viewing hockey."

Some volunteers are from tournament sponsoring organizations. The owner of Missoula's Exact Image Screenprint, Embroidery & Promotional Products Dave Lapham has been on hand six of the seven years the tournament has been in existence. He said he has done everything from surfacing the ice to setting up and taking down the village to scoring and timing the games. Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) was a new partner this year and also provided volunteers.

Mitchell said her personal favorite volunteer is her husband. She said, "Pat's the one who makes sure the teams are changing in the right tents and are on the right ice when the game starts. It's very important to keep everyone on schedule when you have so many games going on."

Mitchell said one of the things that creates repeat volunteers is the liberally expressed gratitude for their help.

Said Mitchell, "I can't even tell you how many times the volunteers get thanked – by the teams, by the spectators."

Gratitude also rains down from the top. Lindemer said, "The volunteers are awesome. This would not happen without them. They are so willing to just be here, have fun, watch hockey and make sure that it goes smoothly. I really have to thank Pat and Lynn Mitchell for being my go-to people. They make everything flow. There is no way we could do it without them."

The Mitchells in turn credit the Lindemers, both Megan and Mike, for maintaining a "well-run machine."

Lynn Mitchell sums it up: "It's just a fun tournament. Exhausting, but fun."