Traveling to a Hockey Tournament

How to pack, prepare, and travel
to a hockey tournament
in a faraway place.

Before You Go:

Know where you're going. I know that sounds trite, but have all the info with you regarding hotel, car rental, confirmation numbers, hockey schedules, phone numbers of tournament host, and by all means maps, maps, maps! My teammates call me "map girl," but by golly, we've never been lost when I'm on a trip (CSAA isn't making any money on me!) Also, if possible, try not to travel on the same day as your first game. If it is not possible, then try to travel as early as possible just in case your flight is delayed, the car rental has a long line etc. -- Lou

Insurance:

If you're really concerned, you may wish to buy baggage loss insurance in an amount sufficient to purchase new equipment. Look for a policy, if possible, that will kick in if your bags' contents are lost or simply damaged, and one that will give you some emergency cash if the bags are delayed more than a certain number of hours. -- Brian

Packing your Hockey Gear:

Try to pack as lightly as possible. Your hockey bag is going to weigh a ton; the less extra stuff you have the better. I usually pick a "focal color" for my casual clothes and pack everything that matches that (black is easiest). Since your skates aren't in your bag, you have some extra room in there. I suggest putting bulky, soft, lighter things in there like sweatshirts, t-shirts, and jerseys.
Don't forget to put your empty water bottle in your bag. Yes, it takes up room, but the last thing you want to deal with is looking for a water bottle five minutes before the game starts. Be careful not to overpack the hockey bag. If it gets too heavy, it is hard to carry and could also break the straps. -- Lou

Packing Sticks:

Get to the airport early, go right to the "big baggage" counter and ask for a plastic ski bag and some tape. Put your sticks in this bag and label, label, label the hell outta it! If you are travelling with teammates, try to spread the sticks out among a few different bags, so if one gets lost, you may have the other stick in another bag. This is way more crucial for goalies as they are the only ones with goalie sticks (most of us forwards can borrow in a pinch). -- Lou
When we flew to Seattle's tournament, we wrapped all our sticks together with tape, put them into a plastic airline bicycle bag (sold by Air Canada (C$15) at the "special baggage handling" counter), and then wrapped lots of packing tape (also available at the counter) around the bag. The more sticks the better because they each support the rest. -- Brian
I pack my sticks in a stick bag, to which I can easily attach luggage tags. If I'm traveling with a friend, we'll put all out sticks in the bag. Since it's relatively small and light, the one extra piece for two people doesn't matter as much. If I'm traveling alone, I check two big bags and a stick bag, and carry on only a briefcase, which I can stow under the seat. I've never been charged extra for my big or heavy or extra bags.
An Air Canada sales agent told me that since Canada is hockey, sticks travel for free. -- Michael

Packing your Other Gear:

As for your other bag, your best bet is to go with one of those "pull along" flight attendant sized bags. Cram your small stuff -- jeans, underwear, one set of "nice clothes" and toiletries -- in this bag. This way, your hockey bag can go on your shoulder and you can pull this along behind you. (In a pinch, I've balanced my hockey bag on it and pulled it along to save my overworked shoulder.) -- Lou
Air Canada has this to say about baggage: You can carry on up to two bags that are not bigger than 9"x16"x22" each; you can check up to two bags that are up to 62" (length + width + height) each and weigh up to 70 pounds each; and you can check two hockey sticks taped together or in a stick bag. Baggage over that size or weight is "excess baggage" and will cost extra.
Other airlines probably have similar restrictions, but probably do not have the stick allowance.
Packed for a local hockey game, my goalie bag is over the size limit but weighs only 35 pounds. Packed for an airplane trip, it should not weigh more than forty pounds. I pack two bags, one for most of my goalie gear and one for everything else: hockey pants, three sets of hockey underwear, catcher, and street clothes. Why all that extra underwear? I hate to play in clammy wet gear. At one tournament I played three games in a single day. Even though my skates, pants, and chest pads were damp, I had dry socks, jocks, shorts, and t-shirt for every game. -- Michael

Carry with you on the Plane:

Skates, jock, glasses/contacts, and any medication that can't be easily replaced. It's also not a bad idea to carry on basic toiletries like toothbrush and contact lens stuff. If your luggage gets lost, then you don't have to hunt down a drugstore, especially if you're in an obscure suburb somewhere without transportation.
The rule of thumb is that if it would really bug you to have to borrow someone else's (or is there is high likelihood that no one would loan you one) then, yes, you should carry on whatever is "un-borrowable." -- Lou

Carry your skates on the airplane with you!

Obviously, I have a horror story to go along with this: big tourney, Jackson Hole, landed three hours before the first game, my equipment, skates etc went to Cincinatti. I was able to borrow equipment, which was icky, but fine in a pinch; but I really wished that I had my own skates, it is murder to skate in unfamiliar skates that don't fit and are rockered differently. --Lou

Getting to the airport:

Beg, borrow and steal if you have to, do whatever it takes to get dropped off at the airport. If you have teammates on the same flight, try to get a sympathetic friend with a big car to take you. Worst case, take a cab. If you have to park at the airport and carry all that stuff from long-term parking you will be very depressed by the time you get to the counter. -- Lou
If you are in a foreign country, make sure to have a few dollars in coins left over for the trip back. You'll need them to rent baggage carts. (In Amsterdam they are free. In San Francisco they cost $1.50. In Toronto they cost $1 but you get your looney back when you treturh the cart.) -- Michael

Once at the airport:

Do not do curbside check-in. Yes, I know it is tempting to dump everything off on those men outside the terminal, but this is a recipe for disaster. They will never get all your stuff to the right place. Be safe and go inside. United has a special place for oversized baggage. Find it and get in line there; they may be able to do all the check-in. Your best bet if you are going with others is to go all at once, that way they factor in all luggage in a "group" and are less likely to charge for extra pieces. Especially if you have "non-players" going along, dump a bag on them and you definitely won't get charged. -- Lou

Video and other Cameras:

If you have other people going along and they can watch it or even video your game, then cool, bring it along. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. -- Lou

Take a Friend with you:

If at all possible, try to invite a sympathetic friend or partner who is into hockey. He or she will prove invaluable in dealing with the following: scorekeeping, getting schedules, last minute changes, dealing with the tourney people, turning in the rosters, taping sticks, getting water, etc. It is really hard for a player to get into the "zone" before a game if they are worrying about all the nit-picky stuff. My sweet, wonderful girlfriend split duty on this with another teammate's partner and it was a huge help. -- Lou

Final Words of Advice:

For everything else, let common sense prevail, and have fun! --Lou