Cooperalls were a brand of

ice hockey equipment In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection as this is a sport where injuries are common, therefore, all players are encouraged to protect their bodies from bruises and severe fract ...

manufactured by Cooper Canada. The name has since become a generic term for all hockey pants featuring a waist-to-ankle outer shell and the basic design remains popular in the sports of

ringette Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female c ...

and

broomball Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitive winter sport, winter and ball sport played on ice or snow. It is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on the climate and location. It is most popularly played in Canada and the ...

but not

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

Design

Cooperalls were designed by Brian Heaton, the senior designer for Cooper Canada from 1972 to 1975 and were used in

, and

. Promoted as "a complete hockey uniform system" it consisted of an elasticated girdle extending from the middle of the rib cage to the top of the knees, worn beneath a tracksuit-style woven

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

outer shell covering waist to ankle. The girdle had pockets in to which lightweight, compression moulded foam pads were placed and the close fitting nature of the garment ensured that the pads always stayed in contact with the areas of the body they were designed to protect. This replaced the traditional combination of short hockey pants and socks, and Cooper claimed that when combined with their own brand of extra light

shin guard A shin guard or shin pad is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mou ...

shoulder pads The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

and

gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger including the thumb. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a ...

the system weighed 40% less than a conventional uniform. As well as being considerably lighter, the system offered players greater freedom of movement and improved hip, pelvis and thigh protection. A short-legged outer shell, called the "Cooperall Coupé" (from the French past participle ''coupé'', to cut) was also available for traditionalists. The long pant was first adopted by the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

in the late 1970s and was tested in training camps by a number of

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

teams, including the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

and the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

CCM Propac

A similar style of girdle and long pant, called the "Propac", was manufactured by CCM. This design was worn by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

in the

1981–82 NHL season The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. The teams were realigned into divisions that better reflected their geographic locations. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the ...

, and both the Flyers and the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

in the

1982–83 NHL season The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. The Colorado Rockies relocated to East Rutherford, New Jersey, becoming the New Jersey Devils. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their s ...

Ringette and Broomball

Today, players in the sports of

and

still wear ankle length sports pants whose designs were inspired by the original design of Cooperalls and can be seen widely used across both sports including at major international events. Ringette players however also wear ice hockey skates while broomball players do not use ice skates of any kind.

Criticism in ice hockey

The long pant design received considerable criticism in ice hockey circles: * Player safety compromised by less friction with the ice during a fall, causing players to slide more violently into the boards. * Design was too warm. * Goalies complained that the puck was difficult to see against the long black pants worn by the Flyers players. The NHL subsequently passed a rule that teams had to wear short pants and home and away socks from the 1983–84 season onwards. However, they remained popular in amateur hockey and inline hockey throughout the 1980s and the girdle and short shell design is still available from some hockey manufacturers.

References

External links