Tiger Hockey History
Black River Youth Hockey was started in 1975. Our first rink was built by the Black River Falls National Guard and was made of old shell crates from Camp McCoy. The first warming hut was a building that the Jackson County Fair Board had given to the city for use as a dog pound but was found to be inappropriate for that purpose.
There were 22 participants the first year, only 6 had been on ice skates before!!
Black River Youth Hockey is self-funding, with money coming from tournaments and fund raisers and not from local tax dollars. Black River Youth Hockey gave the first and largest single donation to the Jackson County Arena in the amount of $25,000.00 in 1982. Since it was original built, youth hockey added the locker room addition in 1987 at a cost of $70,000.00 and in 1990 paid another $60,000.00 + for artificial ice. More recently the ice system was updated at a cost of $55,000.00 and new boards were installed at a cost of $35,000.00.
Since the beginning, Black River Youth Hockey has grown from 2 teams to 10 teams, including a girls team and mini-mite program that involves no travel. BRYH has earned the right to compete in numerous State Tournaments winning a number of State Championships.
In 1978, Black River Youth Hockey helped form the Wisconsin-Minnesota Hockey League, in which we still play. The WMHL is composed of teams from Black River Falls, Tomah, Onalaska, West Salem, La Crosse, Viroqua and La Crescent.
In 1985, the Black River School District joined with Black River Youth Hockey to support the high school age team and made them a WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) team.