U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Haberman & Associates is celebrating the success of the third-annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (Jan. 18 - 20, 2008), an event that showcases our passion for the sport and our expertise in creating national brand movements.

To understand the significance of a "pond hockey" tournament, you've got to appreciate the deep meaning of pond hockey to men and women who grew up in cold-climate states such as Minnesota.

Pond hockey enthusiasts grew up playing hockey on frozen ponds in their back yards, on a neighborhood creek or in a local park. They cleared the ice with shovels, not zambonis. Instead of $149 pads, they protected their shins with old magazines held with duct tape. Wooden boards with small holes served as goals, eliminating the need for a goalie. No frustrated parents on the sidelines berated the coaches or the kids.

It was hockey the way nature intended -- outside in the elements during the absolute coldest time of year.

Only a few people have kept the game alive into adulthood. One of them is Fred Haberman.

Crashing headfirst into mid-life crisis in 2005, Fred and other pond hockey fanatics, including Ridgeway International, had a vision: create a national pond hockey tournament in downtown Minneapolis. Fred perfected the idea as he painstakingly shoveled and smoothed his own backyard pond on a peaceful creek.

"Pond hockey is my religion," said Fred. "There's nothing better than being a kid again, skating with wild abandon, free from the pressures that dog hockey players and parents these days. But the ultimate rush is playing with others who love the game."

In 2006, the first-ever U.S. Pond Hockey Championships drew nearly 120 teams of pond hockey players from across the nation to Minneapolis to play on 25 rinks. Tens of thousands of spectators cheered them on. And, the tournament proudly donated a portion of its profits to youth hockey charities, Herb Brooks Foundation and DinoMights Inner City Youth Hockey.

Today, the tournament has grown in size and national notoriety. ESPN.com has listed it as one of the "101 things sports fans must experience before they die." Sports Illustrated called the event "perfect in every detail." It was the subject of a Jeopardy! question. The tournament will live in infamy in its very own board game: Pond Hockey-opoly.

Haberman & Associates storytellers have contributed to the tournament's success every step of the way, from creating www.uspondhockey.com, advertisements and viral videos to managing a mammoth media relations campaign to securing sponsors for the event.

When the pucks hit the ice for the fourth-annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships in 2009, Fred will join his team, the Screeching Pterydactyls, in their quest for the Golden Shovel. Despite the competition, he likes his chances. After all, he will have had a hand in grooming each of the 25 rinks himself.

. . . now that's pond hockey.

Watch: ESPN Ad '07 USPHC slide show, Magical Power of the Shovel, Jeopardy!
Gov. Pawlenty/President Bush Talk Pond Hockey, USPHC highlights, KARE-11
Read: Sports Illustrated, NHL.com, The Rake, Christian Science Monitor
Listen: Minnesota Public Radio ("Pond hockey diehards brave bitter cold")