After the death on Sunday of an 8-year-old spectator who was hit in the head by a puck during a French Division 1 ice hockey game between Dunkirk and Reims, a preliminary investigation "was opened by the Dunkirk Prosecutor’s office to determine the exact circumstances of the accident," according to LE MONDE. French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) Dir General Eric Ropert said, “The Michel-Raffoux Dunkirk Rink is in line with the standards of the Federation.” These standards state that the "full glass guarding is obligatory in Ligue Magnus, the elite French ice hockey [league], while the lower divisions only require protection behind the goals and in the corners of the rink." The sides remain unprotected, which is the case in Dunkirk. It is the first time in France (and Europe) that a spectator was seriously injured. This "unprecedented accident highlights the aging of some enclosures" in France. Ropert said, “We have been committed over the past two years to putting in glass guarding around all rinks where senior or junior matches take place. ... The core problem, it’s that we are in the ice sports where the large majority of equipment came out in the 1970s, after the [1968] Grenoble Olympics.” He also recognized that the skating rinks were not all originally intended to host hockey games, a fast developing sport in France, which will host the World Championships in '17, along with Germany (LE MONDE, 11/3). LE NOUVELLE REPUBLIQUE reported the tragic death of the boy killed by a puck while attending Dunkirk’s hockey game on Sunday "has put the ice world in turmoil." Poitiers (France) Sports Dir Patrick Champeil, who had a long career as a hockey player, said “A ‘poc’ (puck), weighing 160 to 180 grams [5.6 to 6.3 oz], is made of very hard material. Launched at nearly 180 km/h [112 mph], it’s a dangerous projectile. That is why fan protection measures -- glass walls and nets -- are installed on the rink’s edges. In Poitiers, the rink was completely rebuilt. The best public safety measures are in place. The accident in Dunkirk is extremely rare but it must be a concern for us. Indeed, the most significant danger is behind the goals. It’s for this reason that we are open to nets. We could add them on the sides. We will be looking into this very carefully” (LE NOUVELLE REPUBLIQUE, 11/4).
CLOSE UP SHOP: FRANCE 3 reported Dunkirk Mayor Patrice Vergriete announced Tuesday that "the Michel-Raffoux rink would be closed to the public until further notice." Vergriete: “There will not be any more games with spectators in the stands until further notice. Even if all the security constraints are met by the club and the management of the rink, I cannot see myself allowing the people directly in the stands to be exposed while telling them that there are hardly ever any accidents.” The Dunkirk hockey club will request to not play any home games before January. Until then, "a study on security will be carried out." A meeting with the president of the FFHG is "expected in the coming days" (FRANCE 3, 11/4).
