GOHA Ice Hockey: Season 10!

Yes there IS ice hockey in Second Life!

Global Online Hockey Association is the sports community you've heard about in Second Life! GOHA is featured on SL's Showcase, SL6B Linden birthday celebration, TreetTV, CNN's website, and around the virtual worlds and internet. Come be a part of the fun!

Your equipment and participating in the league is FREE. Our league exists solely through the dedication and volunteer efforts of many long time players and we gladly welcome new folks into the fold. We all love the game of ice hockey as well as the longstanding friendships that have developed through this historic SL sporting group. Besides play the game we have many outside activities as a group, it's a great social setting if you're bored or lonely in SL. We live for hockey and good times and gladly welcome anyone wanting to get in on the fun.

The league was born years ago after I came to SL in 2004 and discovered a beautiful outdoor rink (but no players, no teams) and worked hard with a group of folks to achieve our dream to bring hockey to Second Life. Since that time, the league has grown by leaps and bounds from 1 division and 2 teams, to 3 divisions and 11 teams. We have just started our TENTH season on January 10th, 2010 and there is plenty of time to get into the action!

Our game script is professionally created by the maker of Wastelands, and modified regularly by our own longtime league member and professional scriptor Dyz Warburton of Dyzware. The game offers the most realistic hockey game you could imagine in SL. The game play is amazingly realistic and fun. The game boasts realistic animations and game play and rules based on NHL play, with our own developed modifications to meet SL demands. You will see goalies making breathtaking glove saves, players hit hard enough to knock them facedown into the ice, and more. If you love hockey, it will take your breath away.

Our fantastic rink is built on two Class 5 sims. *We have a brand new, breathtaking rink for Season 10!* Spectators are on one side and players on the other. The rink is specifically built to maximize SL performance with minimal rendering costs, along with freedom of movement, so that you can enjoy the game with minimal lag. It's the game that's important! You will love our long league history featured in the only hockey Hall of Fame in Second Life. Come check out our long and enjoyable history here inside SL.

On Sundays, our games are filmed by the famous TreetTV (formerly SLCN) and broadcast in and out of game. You'll love our announcers Kert Upshaw and Vivienne Coppola as they provide professional live coverage of our games in an awesome studio on-site. You can contact Starr Sonic or Wiz Norberg for advertising information.

We have been thrilled to lately introduce special features that make it a snap for those with real life physical disabilities to be able to play this game with us. If you would like to experience simulated hockey but are hesitent due to real life problems with your hands or coordination or other issues, speak to myself or Dyz Warburton.

On our professional website, you can find a ton of information. The website includes forums, photo history, league rules, history pages, 8 seasons of awards, and much more. Also, unique to the sports world, we have a statistics engine created by Dyz Warburton that provides UP TO THE MINUTE game statistics, team and individual statistics. There's nothing like it anywhere else; you can even watch stats update LIVE as a game goes on.

Website:
http://www.globalonlinehockeyassociation.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Online-Hockey-Association-GOHA/135425871455

Come on by the rink and pick up your free sticks and jerseys. We welcome anyone to get involved now and become a part of the action for Season 10. You can play every game, or part-time as your real life schedule allows. Talk to any GOHA member for information on getting started with us. You can look up Katia Ixtab, Kalita Magic or Ashlene McMinnar who specialize in training our new rookies, providing learning clinics, and are available for 1-on-1 assistance. We welcome anyone of any skill level and will help you train! Search hockey in Places or IM me in-game and I am glad to drop you a landmark and show you around personally.


GLOBAL ONLINE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: MISSION

The Mission of GOHA is to provide, manage, and promote virtual hockey inside the virtual world, at all levels of ability; to assist participants in their various forms of involvement with the game; to provide clear rules and promote adherence to all the rules of the game; and to encourage and facilitate the involvement of as many people as possible in the activities. GOHA's major effort is to provide an opportunity for all online participants, regardless of physical, financial or computer limitations, to achieve their own maximum potential for enjoyment and competition in the virtual online game, provide social opportunities, and maintain an enjoyable online hockey community.

GOHA members strive:

TO BE A LEADER:
-taking charge of a situation under pressure
-showing the way through good example

TO EXHIBIT GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP:
-showing enthusiasm, spirit and positive attitude
-taking advice and criticism in an effort to improve
-being humble and gracious both on and off the ice
-respecting your opponent in both victory and defeat

TO BE A COMPETITOR:
-possessing the determination and desire to win
-having pride in yourself and never giving up

TO BE DEDICATED:
-making practice and doing your best at every game
-disciplining yourself to know and follow league rules and guidelines
-volunteering for support position roles (captain, referee, etc) in support of facilitating the league's good health and each member's ongoing experience.

TO BE LOYAL AND RESPECTFUL:
-thinking in terms of "we" instead of "I"
-respecting the organization, management, captains, and your leaguemates

TO HAVE FUN:
-turning off bad attitudes before hitting the ice
-making every effort to work as a team so that every game, win or lose, is a game that was enjoyed

Through participation in these virtual competitive activities, GOHA hopes to contribute to several values: an appreciation for the benefits of practice, motivation, and perseverance in both winning and losing situations; the ability to work as a team; a feeling of pride in accomplishment through honest means; an appreciation for diversity and continuous learning; and a sense of good sportsmanship and a high level of personal integrity and ethical conduct.

We are into week 5 of Season 10 now and still welcoming new folks! It is never too late to jump in. We have a beautifully run Farm Division in which you can play against other rookies, along with vet assistance, to learn the basic game. Stop on by the rink, you will always find someone around to help. We are looking forward to a lot of growth in 2010 and hope you can be a part of it.