JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Competitors from around the world faced off last week in a hockey tournament in Santa Rosa, California. Unlike a lot of other hockey tournaments, this one is for older players, with divisions for people in their 40s on up to their 70s and beyond. And it was all started by "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz, who played in the tournament until he was 76. From Northern California Public Media in Santa Rosa, Noah Abrams has the story.
NOAH ABRAMS, BYLINE: Each July, dozens of hockey teams descend on California's wine country. They fill hotels and set up camper vans in the parking lot at a rink known as Snoopy's Home Ice about an hour north of San Francisco. Inside, players hit pucks across the ice in game after game from dawn till midnight for 12 days straight.
(SOUNDBITE OF ATHLETES HITTING PUCKS)
ABRAMS: Walter Tom, 71, is one of the many players competing in this tournament known as Snoopy's Senior World Hockey Tournament.
WALTER TOM: I was amazed when I was just a spectator watching these guys skate around, and they were so quick. And then they took off their helmets, and they were bald, or they were really gray.
ABRAMS: He captains a local team, the Santa Rosa Red Barons.
TOM: I was so excited to turn 40 'cause I got to play in the Snoopy's Senior Hockey Tournament. What a best thing about turning 40.
ABRAMS: This isn't the only tournament in the country for people over 40, but it's been going on since the 1970s, according to the rink's programming director Blake Johnson.
BLAKE JOHNSON: It was spun off from a tournament that Sparky played in in the early '70s called the Senior Olympics.
ABRAMS: Sparky is the nickname of Charles Schulz, the "Peanuts" creator who lived in this area and loved hockey. He was in his 50s when they started hosting the event in Santa Rosa. The Senior Olympics had been for people over 40, but over time, the Snoopy tournament added more divisions for older players, and the tournament says they became the first in North America to offer a 75-plus division. Santa Rosa's George Peterka has been playing since the start and is still going, even though he's 82.
GEORGE PETERKA: It's my life, you know? I always loved hockey.
ABRAMS: Yeah.
PETERKA: So it's hard to quit, even I really slow down with the age, you know? People like golf, you know? I like hockey.
ABRAMS: For people playing this demanding sport at an older age, there are definitely some physical limitations. Some people are coming back on the ice after hip replacements. Some people like Deric Boivin, who's 71, say they are slower than before.
DERIC BOIVIN: In our head, we're going a lot faster than, you know, we're - I'm happy not to see a video of us because, you know - only if we play it on, you know, fast speed. No. It feels good to be out there, and it is still a lot of fun.
ABRAMS: And for a lot of players who at this age don't take their hips, knees and backs for granted, it means that every game is special.
For NPR News, I'm Noah Abrams in Santa Rosa, California.
(SOUNDBITE OF VINCE GUARALDI'S "JOE COOL") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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