Home of the Lee Valley Lions Ice Hockey Team
Brief details on what ex-Lions imports Anders Bach and Mark Harding are up to these days have been added to the Where Are They Now? page. I hope to have some more info about Anders shortly. Mark contacted me himself and it turns out he’s a fellow drummer, so I’ve included a link to his band’s site.
On Friday Paul O’Neill and Ben Osborne took the teddies that were donated during the game against Cardiff to the Samaritan’s Purse depot near Charlie Brown’s roundabout. There, the volunteers told us about the work they do in sending shoe boxes of small toys and gifts to children around the world. So far this Christmas they have sent nearly 50,000 shoe boxes to places such as Swaziland, Romania and Kurdistan. They have another 14,000 boxes ready to send this week, some of which you can see in the background of the photo. Our teddies will be used to fill up partial shoe boxes. The remainder will be used to fill holes in the larger boxes and will be distributed by the volunteers in the final countries. Photos are on the Miscellaneous Photos page.
Paul O’Neill has posted on the forum to say he’s now a Dad. Baby Lola O’Neill arrived at 10.45am on 5th December 2005, weighing in at 2.965kg (about 7lb in old money). Congratulations to Paul and his wife, Emilie.
The Committee of the Lee Valley Junior Ice Hockey Club wish to assure the EIHA, parents and all interested parties that games and training will continue as usual at the Lee Valley Ice Centre (this includes all senior Lions training/matches).
The following statement was issued today by the Park Authority and we, The Committee, accept the assurances of Lee Valley Regional Park, that this ice centre meets all Health & Safety requirements:
“The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is disappointed by the manner in which London Racers have pursued this matter of alleged health and safety issues at the Lee Valley Ice Centre.
The London Racers first raised these issues with the Authority on 17th November and we responded immediately to their correspondence. It is clear that there are differences of opinion on the facts of the matters raised.
Unfortunately the London Racers did not continue the dialogue with the Authority but on 21st November announced on their website that they had ceased playing operations with immediate effect.
The London Racers have still not informed the Authority of this decision.
The Authority takes its responsibility for the health and safety of customers and staff very seriously and refutes the claims being made by the London Racers. The Authority is confident that it is providing a safe and secure environment at the Centre and that we provide a first class facility for all our users.
We would, of course, like to talk to the Club about the issues they have raised and urge them to contact our staff rather than simply making statements though their website and in the press.”
For further information please contact Philippa Mathewson on 01992 709881 Mob 07740 347206 or Natasha Gonsalves on 01992 709 830.
It is reported that the London Racers may fold as a result of safety concerns about the Lee Valley rink. This has raised worries about how the Lions will be affected. Lions’ Manager, Pete Osborne, has posted a statement on the forum, which includes the following:
“We have NO problems with the facilities provided at Lee Valley Ice Rink. As far as we are concerned this is one of the better ice rinks in the ENIHL (ED1) in terms of the quality of the fixtures and fittings both on and off the ice. We fully intend to continue playing there and have no intention of moving anywhere else. This is also true for the junior club.”