Canada loves its hockey. If I may serve as a sorry example as I never reached the National Hockey League, I still have a deep reservoir of hockey memories. At five years of age in freezing winter pre global warming days I hit the outdoor natural ice in Montreal not knowing much more than shoot the puck in the opposing team’s net. Hockey is a Canadian obligation for all able-bodied citizens.
Hours and hours of practice and games. Winning a city championship. Scoring 5 goals in a hockey game a personal highlight. Then coaching my son and his team for 6 years winning 3 championships and learning that winning isn’t everything. My lads lost a championship game in overtime but in that loss they roared back from a 5-goal deficit to tie the match and force overtime. My crowning glory was therefore in a loss with a tremendous pride and respect in my boys. OK so this documentary sent my hockey memories soaring. Damn it perhaps a book on my hockey memories is in order. Many Canadians have books to write about their hockey memories!
“Overtime”, a Canadian documentary, is the story of Kelley Lee-Gilmore a 60-year-old mother of two and a professor at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University. We learn about her childhood in a Chinese family where sports was indeed far from a ladies sport. There were very few opportunities for a woman to play hockey and Chinese women…forget it. Kelley started playing as a teenager when she could afford fees to join a league and continued playing in the United Kingdom while studying and teaching at the University of Sussex. She dropped the sport to raise her children but resumed her hockey passion in 2006. With that passion and familial support she picked up hockey again in British Columbia in the 55 plus women’s league and we follow her to a national 55 plus hockey tournament and listen to her and her teammates views on hockey and life.
An interesting documentary written and directed by her daughter Jenny Lee-Gilmore but its power to resurrect personal hockey memories was remarkable. Of course, it could apply to any sport. An inspiring story of an underdog fighting for and achieving her dreams. Overcoming age and ethnicity? Horatio Alger story? Simply a story that could be repeated by any Canadian hockey player?
“Overtime” will have its television debut on 5December2023 on TELUS Optik TV Channel 8 with global reach online at telusoriginals.com
Well done despite its somewhat cheesy music.
RKS 2023 Film Rating 74/100.
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