- Title: RUSSIA: ICE HOCKEY - Omsk prison inmates battle it out in hockey championship
- Date: 12th March 2009
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PLAYERS GETTING DRESSED IN LOCKER ROOM VARIOUS OF INMATE PREPARING HOCKEY STICK PLAYER LACING UP SKATES SIGN READING "TERRITORY OF THE SPORT COMPLEX" INMATES WAITING TO WATCH THE GAME (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PRISON HOCKEY LEAGUE ORGANISER, ANDREI ZUZKO, SAYING: "Our goal is to help people to forget for a short while about crimes, prison, detention and to let them express themselves in sport, to show the best they can do. And it helps them to serve their sentences."
- Embargoed: 27th March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAADBNDXET28Q4Y9JXKILJID663
- Story Text: Surrounded by prison walls, inmates in the Siberian city of Omsk fight their battles with hockey sticks and professional training.
It has all the components of a regular hockey league -- professional training, logoed uniforms and fans -- but this ice rink is set inside a prison and the players are all inmates.
Inmates in the prison for habitual offenders in the Siberian city of Omsk have their own hockey league, set up in an initiative by one of the prison officers.
At present, the league is comprised of only four teams - "Sharks", "Black Kites", "Raptors" and "Wanted". But the prison administration hopes that it will soon include teams from other prisons as well.
Each team has its own uniform with logos that follow the design of the Russian Continental Hockey League and the National Hockey League in North America.
League organiser, Andrei Zuzko, says that the league was created for the benefit of the inmates.
"Our goal is to help people to forget for a short while about crimes, prison, detention and to let them express themselves in sport, to show the best they can do. And it helps them to serve their sentences," Zuzko said.
The rink was made and is being maintained by the inmates, and each team can practice several times a week on it.
The rules of the game are like those of real hockey, with a few exceptions -- instead of the puck, prison teams play with a tennis ball to avoid injuries, and stricter regulations apply to the fighting and pushing on ice. Those players who cannot control their emotions and kick, push or hit their opponents will end in isolation instead of in a penalty box, as during NHL games.
The teams are coached by the most experienced players and have their own supporters who come to watch the games and cheer for their favourite team.
The fans are allowed to attend when they are off their prison duties.
This is the third season of the Prison Hockey League, and the "Sharks" have been the strongest team in the past, winning two previous championships. This year they were leading two-nil in the final best-of-five series versus "Black Kites", but Kites won the third game to keep the intrigue alive.
Yevgeny Goryansky, one of the "Sharks" leading players says that they will push forward in the next game to win for the third time.
Goryansky, who has played hockey since childhood, says that having a hockey contest in prison helps inmates keep on living through their prison sentence.
"First of all it's a great emotional relief - we are waiting for a hockey game, we are preparing for this game throughout the year, it is the highlight of our sports life here and it gives us a lot of positive emotions," Goryansky said during a short break in the game.
And as in the real hockey, the team-winner of the Prison League will get a cup and medals. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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