Broomball Players From Across the Country Compete in National Championship in Fargo

This is the third time the tournament has been held in Fargo

FARGO, N.D. — Broomball players from as far as Washington, D.C. and Alaska are in Fargo to play in the National Championship.

Players say the hockey-like sport is big in Canada, and has been moving down into the U.S. as it grows in popularity.

This is the third time the National Championship has been held in Fargo in the tournament’s 21–year–run.

For some players, broomball is a sport they’ve been a part of for most of their lives.

“I have family who played. Fun, outdoor broomball. We ran around on ice, some people didn’t even have shoes, they were in boots sliding all over the place,” Stephanie Popovich, who plays defense for the Lumberjacks, said.

Others fall in love the first time they give it a shot.

“We’ve had people just try it once and they get hooked, it’s very easy, and a lot of people like help people start the game, get shoes and sticks just to try it out,” Al Woody Stauffacher, governor of USA Broomball, said.

No matter how long you’ve played or how you got started, one thing that brings players together is the sense of community the sport can foster.

“It’s a passionate game, and the one thing is, it’s a small sport, so everyone kind of knows everybody and has a good time, but I think the adrenaline and everybody that— if you’re a broomball person, you’re a junkie, you’re watching games, you see people standing around still watching games after their game is finished,” Stauffacher said.

The excitement and company don’t end when the games are over. The fun carries on outside of the rink, too.

“For me, it’s the celebration after, after a win and having a couple drinks with your friends. And also the people we played on the team against, it’s a big community sport, so you end up after games giving high fives and you’re hugging some of them. Then you have a beer with them after,” Popovich said.

Organizers say bringing the game to different cities across the country is a way to grow the sport and hopefully spread its popularity.

“Fun game, it’s very popular in Minnesota especially but we try to grow it and move it out state and that’s why we’ve come to Fargo,” Stauffacher said.

Players from the Twin Cities say it feels good to play relatively close to home, even though traveling with the winter storm was a bit challenging.

“It’s nice because we are able to bring our full squad up here, well this year it took a little longer to get up here, it’s a close drive for us and we can have our full squad here and hopefully win the thing,” Popovich said.

About 50 teams are in town competing, and the tournament will wrap up tomorrow.