Canada's commitment to hockey remains strong: Eight in 10 watch hockey every
week

MasterCard Canada survey reveals an unwavering passion for hockey among Canadian parents, players and fans

TORONTO, May 12 /CNW/ - With playoff season in full swing, a new survey by MasterCard Canada reveals that Canada's passion for the game of hockey remains strong among parents, players and fans. According to the survey, eight in 10 Canadians (83%) find time each week to watch hockey, on television and at the arena. Canadians remain committed to sharing their love of hockey with their children, with two-thirds of parents (64%) revealing they support their children's involvement in hockey, by spending time car-pooling, fundraising, and attending team practices and games. Finally, another 10 per cent of Canadians report they still lace up their skates to play hockey today.

"Despite the increasingly busy lives we lead, Canadians continue to make hockey a priority," said Milos Vranesevic, Director, Brand Marketing, MasterCard Canada. "At MasterCard Canada, we share the same dedication to the game and that means supporting hockey from a community and grassroots level, right through to professional hockey. The MasterCard Memorial Cup is just around the corner, and we're delighted with the enthusiasm from parents, players and fans of the game."

According to the survey, approximately one in five (18%) Canadians devotes more than four hours each week to watching hockey. Not surprisingly, men continue to lead the love for hockey with more than twice the number of men (25%) than women (12%) making the time to watch hockey. Another five per cent of men admit they spend more than 10 hours each week.

He shoots, he scores:

Despite busy schedules, careers and children, Canadians continue to make time for hockey. The MasterCard survey reveals that 10 per cent of Canadians still take to the ice regularly, at least one hour each week, and play hockey with a team, their children or with friends. In fact, parents are far more likely (17%) to spend time on the ice than Canadians without children (3%).

    
    -   One in five men (18%) play at least one hour a week, versus just
        3 per cent of women;
    -   Atlantic Canadians and Albertans (13%) play more hockey than those
        living in British Columbia (8%).
    

The next generation of hockey players:

Canadian parents step up their dedication to hockey: one in 10 (10%) parents finds more than four hours per week to support their children on the ice, including carpool, fundraising and tournaments. According to the MasterCard survey:

    
    -   Manitoba and Saskatchewan parents commit the most time, with
        15 per cent sacrificing more than four hours each week;
    

Additional regional findings:

According to the survey, Canada's love of the game varies across the country. While nationally 18 per cent spend more than four hours each week watching hockey:

    
    -   Approximately one in five (21%) of Quebecers and Albertans devote
        more than four hours to watching hockey, and another 5 per cent of
        Albertans find more than 10 hours for viewing time.
    -   Only 14 per cent of Atlantic Canadians find a minimum of four hours
        of hockey viewing time.
    

Fans and junior hockey players from across the country are counting down the days to the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup - "North America's Toughest Championship". This year's MasterCard Memorial Cup takes place in Brandon, Manitoba, May 14 - May 23.

About the Survey

The survey was conducted by Toronto-based Research House on behalf of MasterCard Canada from April 1-9, 2010. The online survey is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,002 Canadians ages 18+. The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- 3.10%, 19 times out of 20.

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 22 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

For further information: Sarah McConnell, [phone], [email protected]