BURLEY CUP League

Pat Burley in 1979 on Victoria's five-team Burley Cup League, the precursor to the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL).

Pat charged $2.50 entry for games, or $11 in today's money. In Melbourne, today's AIHL costs almost three times that plus inner city parking.

Forty years on, the controlling authorities find themselves more in the recreational hockey business than in the traditional business of developing young athletes for the top level game here and overseas.

There are many more recreational players than top competition players. So it's easier for organisers with the time but not the skills, and it pays more.

"Lords of the Rink," Weekender, Melbourne, July 20 1979. Courtesy Paul Watson.