The hockey team the Lame Ducks

Every German Embassy is in some way affected by the culture of the host nation in which it resides. It is important to get the flavour of the culture in order to begin to understand the national context and build strong relationships. So it is in Canada.

A few years ago, the Ottawa Service Attachés Association (OSAA) decided it would be a good idea to challenge the Canadian Top Brass to a friendly game of hockey; that first game raised CAN$ 18,000 for charity, which were donated to the Military Families Fund of the Canadian Forces. Since then the 'big game' between the Lame Ducks and the GOFOs (General Officers and Flag Officers) has become something of a fixture, although usually without a charity aspect.

Being the new German Defence Attaché, I was invited to join the hockey team the Lame Ducks. I may not have accepted, had I known that it would involve playing with this beginners team against a group of individuals who were practically born on skates! But it's the asymmetry that's valuable; the Canadians are, frankly, astonished and gratified that the attachés are willing to form a team from complete novices and, within a fairly short time, have them skating like Canadian five-year-olds. Not all Attachés skate, but the Ducks form the core of the Corps and are well supported by the entire Association -- the result is a very tight-knit association that benefits from excellent comradeship and contact with the top echelon of the Canadian Forces. The Ducks, comprising representatives from New Zealand, the United States, Russia, Australia, China, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Poland, France, Argentina, Netherlands, and Germany will continue every other year to organize a charity game in favour of Canadian Forces Families.

In the end, it is not hockey that is the winner, but the bonds forged in taking up the challenge of Canada's national game.

Kay Kuhlen
Lieutenant Colonel
German Defence Attaché