MISSION VIEJO : Roller Hockey Finds Friends on Council

Roller hockey enthusiasts have won support from the City Council in their effort to remedy the chronic lack of facilities for the sport.

The council voted 4 to 1 this week to try to solve a local roller hockey club’s most pressing problem: the Capistrano Unified School District’s ban on roller skating on school campuses.

Council members held off on the district’s request to enact a citywide anti-skating law and will invite school officials to join a task force that will explore a permanent home for youth roller hockey.

“Mission Viejo has the reputation of being a mecca of youth sports in Southern California,” said Mike Dashefsky, who coaches two roller hockey teams in the city that play in tournaments throughout the region. “However, there are substandard roller hockey facilities in Mission Viejo. . . . To deny the youth a place to play would be a travesty.”

Local roller hockey players are practicing in facilities that are about one-third the size of regulation rinks, said team officials. Unsanctioned pickup games are held on the playgrounds of some Mission Viejo schools.

District officials say that the district is self-insured, and that allowing roller hockey could pose a legal risk.

“If I saw a roller hockey game (at a Capistrano district school) I would ask them to stop,” said Dan Crawford, district director of facilities. “We’re prohibiting any type of roller blading including roller hockey. Obviously, it’s a problem of liability.”

Council member Sharon Cody voted against establishing the task force because she wanted the council to take stronger action than sending an invitation to the district.

The district shares the use of some public parks owned by the city that adjoin school property. Cody suggested that the city could make joint use a bargaining chip to get the district to soften its stance on roller hockey.

“We would basically ban (roller hockey) from the city” if the anti-skating law were enacted, Cody said.