Wisconsin athletes and sports teams have brought the state plenty of championships over the years, and now you can add the sport of broomball to the list.
Aiden Bachand and Blake Hanson, both from Superior, led Squall USA to win the mixed world championship of broomball in France last month.
While most of the team is based out of the Twin Cities, its two leading scorers in the tournament were the two men from the Twin Ports.
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“This was my first major tournament other than the U.S. Nationals,” Hanson told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “It was my first time being abroad, and being able to represent the country was something very cool.”
Not only was Squall USA undefeated in the 12-team tournament, but it never trailed in any of its eight games and only allowed one goal.
Bachand told WPR the sport is more competitive in the United States and Canada than other countries. But teams from Germany, Switzerland and Australia provided unique challenges with different formations and strategies than what he sees stateside.
What is broomball?
Broomball is played on ice with a ball and with long sticks that have a paddle shape on the end. Unlike hockey, players don’t wear ice skates but special shoes designed to give them more grip on the ice. Bachand described it as a combination of hockey, soccer and lacrosse.
He grew up around the sport with parents who played it, and it left a distinct imprint on him at an early age.
“I was watching a game when I was 5 or 6 years old, and the rink actually ended up blowing up. The Zamboni blew up on the ice,” Bachand said. “Everyone got out all right, but it was a total loss of the rink.”
The two Superior broomball players grew up playing hockey and other sports together, and Hanson went on to play soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Superior before transitioning back to the ice.
Hanson said broomball uses a different set of stabilization muscles in his core and hips that he wasn’t used to in soccer. Building up those muscles has been a great way to stay in shape after his soccer days.
The culture around the sport has drawn Bachand to get more involved. He organizes men’s and women’s leagues in the Superior and Duluth area, taking the reins from some of the older players who have moved on from the sport.
“The community of broomball is just amazing. Coming from the hockey community, the soccer communities, broomball is nothing like it,” Bachand said. “Everyone wants you to be there. Everyone takes care of you, even on the opposing teams that are out there. So it’s been a really cool process to get to know all the people involved in the sport.”
He’s seen participation in broomball struggle to bounce back from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s hopeful that bringing home the hardware with Squall USA can help bring more attention back to the sport he loves.
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