Hi Chris Cromarty. The Canadian Aerial Surveyor whose release is getting mean on the ice rink.
Chris from Canada, I had no idea people were playing ice hockey in Jakarta! Where do you play?
We gather on Tuesdays and Sundays at Taman Anggrek ice rink. We encourage newcomers or those who aren’t such strong skaters to join on Sundays as Tuesday nights are a bit rough. We’ll be back on it after the Christmas holidays in the second week of January.
How many of you play and what system have you got going on?
We’re at the most we’ve ever had with around 18 of us on Tuesdays. We have three teams of six and play round robin for an hour and a half. The guys are a mix of Canadians, Swedish, Americans, Indonesians who grew up in the States and the Finnish Ambassador!
Do you compete at competitions?
Yes, there are several tournaments in South East Asia, not in Indonesia however, and the next one will be in Bangkok for an over 35s tournament in March.
What do you call yourselves?
The ‘Jakarta Dragons.’ We used to be called ‘Jakarta Corruption’, but changed it to be more P.C.
How rough does ice hockey actually get?
It’s a pretty rough sport. You can use your body to knock and hit opponents, but no punching. Basically you use your body to punch.
Do you guys get quite into it?
I’m generally quite a calm person and I find this is my outlet. We can get quite into it and oftentimes there are grudges in competitive leagues. I’d say on the whole though, our Tuesday night games are pretty tame and only sometimes are the guys ‘rough in the boards’.
Has anyone had any injuries?
A couple of weeks ago one of the goalies shattered his pinky finger, but we haven’t sustained any serious injuries yet.
So, how is the ice rink in Jakarta?
It’s in a mall, which isn’t great as the mall hasn’t really jumped on board with us playing there. Once a puck flew out of the rink and hit a girl, not hard and she was fine, but they shut us down for a while. The rink is in bad condition and probably a third of the size of a real rink, but we mustn’t grumble. At least there is one and we have fun!
Any after games rituals?
Yes, we bring a cooler full of beer and hang out after the game. That’s really what ice hockey is; having a drink and socialising afterwards.
Sounds good. Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?
I resolved to cut back on partying, but I’ve done that already. Basically I want to live a healthier lifestyle.
If any of our readers are keen to join, what do you suggest they do?
Just email me or drop by on Tuesday nights between 8.30 and 9.45pm to see what we get up to. If you’re interested, just have a chat with us after the game and we look forward to having you!
If you want to know more about playing ice hockey in Jakarta, email Chris at [email protected]