HabsByTheBay
Registered User
Sports are only as expensive as you want it to be. Sure, you can go out and buy 700$ skates, the latest composite stick for 250$, and pro-grade stuff.... but don't complain that it is costly. This stuff will not change your performance on the ice all that much. If you don't have a lot of money and the goal is just to get out there and play hockey, then you can get a wood stick for 20$, and can get the rest at a used sports store for next to nothing.
When I raced Karts, I was well-known for being thrifty, in a sport known for being expensive. It was to the point that it pissed people off. Equipment dealers were preaching that you needed the latest and greatest equipment to be fast, and people figured they needed to spend up the wazoo to even join and were turned off by it. Meanwhile, I only had a part-time student job so I raced the oldest Kart in the area (but I kept it well-maintained), with second-hand gear, and when big race teams were throwing out tires that were still 50% good (cause, ya know, gotta keep getting new ones!), I'd go get them in the trash bins, and beat them on the time sheets a few times!
..they started throwing out their tires elsewhere. They had not appreciated it.
The point of my little story is that, any sport is only as expensive as you want it to be. If you really want to play hockey and have even just a few bucks to spare, it can be done!
I grew up in California. Would you like to point me to a used sporting goods store that sells cheap, affordable skates?
There is a serious supply issue in non-traditional hockey areas. It's pretty easy for relatively poor kids in Massachusetts to get on the ice, less so in an area where there's only a couple rinks and not much of a local, hockey-playing community.