Fight global warming and save broomball

Author: Jamie Henn '07

The history of broomball is not written in books, but on the icy court in front of McCullough each winter. In an age when professional sports are dominated by corruption, steroids and traitors (curse you, Johnny Damon), broomball is a noble reminder of what sports should be all about. The concussions, the last minute goals, the sub-zero games: all have become the stuff of legend.

As I write, this great Middlebury tradition is being swept into the dustbin of history by the broom of global warming. According to the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), since the 1960s, winter in Vermont, as marked by snow and ice cover on lakes across the northeast, has shortened by two weeks. Snowfall has also decreased by 15 percent since the 1950s.

This is bad news for broomball. Who among us remembers last year, when the rink in front of McCullough turned into a swamp halfway through the season? The colder temperatures this week are heartening, but the mercury rose once again last week, turning the ice into slush. And let's face it, slush sucks.

Slush means fewer days playing broomball, fewer days at the Sno Bowl and Bread Loaf, less ice fishing, and no more ice climbing. Scholar in Residence in Environmental Studies Bill McKibben once said that global warming threatens to turn our famous Vermont winters into a five-month "mud season," the name New Englanders have given the early spring, when melting snow turns the region into a giant mud pit. "Mud Carnival" just doesn't have the same ring as "Winter Carnival," does it?

Another great tradition, Middlebury hockey, began as an outdoor sport in the 1920s. "On the site of what is now Munroe Hall, there were three tennis courts cut into the side of the hill and they had square wooden posts to hold the nets," recalled Paris Fletcher '24. "We secured an old two-handled cross-cut saw and cut them nearly at ground level. I don't recall consulting the College authorities in advance, but once we had removed those obstacles, we had a nice flat area large enough for a hockey rink, and it was fait accompli . . . ."

Last Thursday, Jan. 19, the Sunday Night Group honored the legacy of Paris Fletcher and all the great outdoor hockey and broomball players that have graced this college campus with a "Save Broomball, Fight Climate Change!" game in front of McCullough. All were encouraged to attend to show support. On Monday, Jan. 23, all were invited to join a delegation of students who, dressed in hockey gear, rallied on the steps of the Vermont State House in Montpelier to present Governor Douglas with a "Golden Broom." The broom symbolizes our challenge to the governor to take strong actions to save our beloved sport and fight climate change.

It is time to drop the gloves on global warming. That's what Paris Fletcher would have done. If you love broomball, skiing, ice fishing or any other winter sport, join your fellow students in this noble cause. Broomball needs you.