PUNTA ARENAS, Chile – The level of hockey in Chile is rising year-on-year – at least according to Ralph Henke, a member of the Santiago Yetis team that claimed victory in the final of the Copa Invernada 2016 in Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia.

Henke, who had experience of playing in Germany, Spain and his native Argentina before coming to Chile two years ago, has seen at first hand how the impact of last season’s tournament inspired other teams to raise their game.

And now he’s hoping that the Yetis’ success can inspire more interest in the Chilean capital and help to deliver the greater goal of seeing Chile send a team to compete at the Pan-American Ice Hockey Tournament annually held in Mexico.

“I joined the Yetis after last year’s tournament in Punta Arenas,” he said. “Everyone had seen how the Port Stanley Penguins had won, we knew that they were building a team with some good players. So we knew we needed to make a step up to compete with them and, coming from a rink like ours, it’s a big thing that we could do so.

“Also, for me, it’s very motivating that a lot of the guys in Santiago who couldn’t come this time, or maybe weren’t all that interested, are starting to see what’s possible. We’ve been getting messages from people wanting to join the team and train with us. That’s great – we want to do more to get people involved and show how we can develop hockey here.”

Development, at this stage, means making sure that Argentina, Mexico and the other Latin American nations don’t get too far ahead of Chile.

“Sure, the level in Argentina is a bit higher and they were able to send four teams to the Pan-Ams,” Henke added. “Mexico is already playing in IIHF tournaments and Brazil is starting to send some strong teams. We can’t afford to let Chile fall behind. We need to get involved, see our flag at those tournaments and attract more interest that way.”

However, lack of ice – and especially a lack of affordable ice – remains a big problem. It’s not just the high cost of hockey gear that stops more people getting involved, sessions on the ice in Chile tend to be priced at luxury levels.

“The rinks we have are popular – people want to use them – but it’s expensive,” Henke added. “In my experience when people go to the ice it’s like going to a fancy restaurant. People go on special occasions like the winter holidays or a kid’s birthday. It shouldn’t be that expensive. If the entry costs aren’t so high it stops being an elite sport. Kids can try it, can understand what a fantastic sport it is, and then they’ll start saving up to buy they own gear. We just need to make it easier to give them a start.”

Henke’s own start owed something to a chance glimpse of the game on TV, and something to an uncle in Germany who had played in his younger days.

“I saw it when I was growing up in Argentina and I went crazy for it,” he smiled. “I was on to my uncle to find out more, he got me a plastic stick and then I found some roller skates and started playing in the street in Buenos Aires. It became my sporting passion and when I finished school I wanted to go to Europe and see if I could play ice hockey somewhere.

“Nobody could believe it when some guy arrived from Argentina to play hockey but I had a few try-outs and ended up with Eintracht Frankfurt. I played in their second team and had a few minutes in the third or fourth lines of the first team, which was a great experience.”

Work meant a move to Barcelona, and more hockey with the B team in the Catalan capital, before heading back to Latin America with high hopes of continuing to promote the game in the southern hemisphere.

“The more countries play the game in Latin America, the easier it becomes to approach organizations like the IIHF and ask for help to set up a coaching symposium or training for officials,” he explained.

“It’s a long trip from Canada or from Europe, but if you can visit several nations, several teams in one tour, that makes it easier to set up. It was a real milestone for us to get a referee down here to do some camps and now we just want to show the international hockey organizations that we really are playing the game here, we are working hard and we can really use that support.”

ANDY POTTS