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The Brain - Basics
by Stephen Holland

Brain-Intensive Activities

Einstein is often quoted as saying that "We only use 5% of our brain." This is wrong. Many activities use much more of the brain.. (Einstein knew almost nothing about the brain, because at the time no one knew much.)

When I studied how different activities used different talents, I was amazed at what I found. Some activities normally considered "simple" in fact were very brain-intensive, using far more than 5% of the brain. Some of the highlights are...

Hockey Brain

Hockey players are often cartooned as dumb hunks of muscle. In fact, I would put hockey as probably the second most brain-intensive human activity. It is also mostly right-brain talents without much language needed.

Some of the important points include...

High demand for muscle coordination while skating, compared to non-skating sports
High speed muscle coordination and reflexes needed for fast maneuvering
Precise visual perception to keep track of a tiny puck, flying at high speed, with sudden changes in motion
Fast spatial analysis to keep track of the fast-moving players and puck
Creative right-brain talents to plan, and quickly change, tactics

Approximate brain activity during Hockey...

What's Living in Your Hockey Bag?:
Study Digs Deep for All the Gory Details
Colette Derworiz
Calgary Herald

For all of the moms and dads who have ever wondered what may be growing in those stinky, sweaty hockey bags, we have all of the dirty details. The Biotechnology Training Centre at the University of Calgary swabbed 10 items in a recently used hockey bag of a 20-year-old male. Among the samples taken were the helmet, skates, shin pads, gloves, chest protector and the cup. "That was vile," Duncan MacCannell, a U of C graduate student in microbiology and infectious diseases, said soon after taking the swabs. He and Vicky Lau, a first-year university student who has worked at the lab for two years, were in charge of the project for the Herald as part of Esso Minor Hockey Week. The severity of what bacteria could do, hit home at the end of December, when Mikael Renberg of the Toronto Maple Leafs cut his hand while lacing up his skates. An infection caused his hand to swell like a boxing glove, and led to talk of amputation and even death. Fortunately for Renberg, his hand was spared. But Leafs coach, Pat Quinn, suggested at the time the team needed to get its equipment tested since a similar ailment forced goalie Ed Belfour to miss four games last October. In Calgary, where thousands of hockey players haul the stinky bags to and from the rink each day, parents shudder to think what is growing on their children's equipment. "It's pretty nasty," said hockey mom Lori Weisensel. She said her 11-year-old son now showers immediately after games and hangs his equipment to dry that evening. "The moms of the team have been approached by the people who clean the equipment and the dads think that is just funny," Weisensel said. "They are like, 'Oh, please, this is a hockey team. It isn't ballet.'" Well, don't get too smug, all of you disparaging dads. The hockey equipment tested for the Herald grew samples of both yeast and bacteria. Lab manager Wendy Hutchins said the equipment should be aired out after every game (bacteria thrives in dark and moist conditions) and could use a good cleaning before being stored away for the summer. Bacteria found in lab analysis of the hockey bag of a 20-year-old male

Staphylococcus epidermidis a common member of the normal florae of skin and mucous membranes. It is one of the most commonly isolated organisms in the clinical laboratory. While, at one time, its appearance was dismissed as contamination, it is now one of the most important agents of hospital acquired infections.
Found staphylococcus epidermidis on gloves, elbow pads, chest protector and elbow pad.
Staphylococcus aureus a bacteria commonly found on the skin and in the nose of healthy people. Sometimes it can get into the body and cause an infection, which can lead to pimples, boils and other skin conditions. The infection can become more serious in such conditions as blood infection and pneumonia. Found on the helmet.
Streptococcus viridans an organism normally found in the mouth. Found on the shin pads and the elbow pad.

Environmental bacteria picked up from the environment, such as those found on water fountains, etc.

Last updated: Thu Oct 30 17:16:18 GMT 1997 Back in the old days, in Canada, the first stick a young player would take to the ice with was not curved at all - enabling them to swap hands anytime during a practice with no problem or delay. This would also, perhaps more importantly, allow coaches to start the season with drills for which all the players could play as left or right shooters as required. This would enable everyone to determine the curve which was natural for each player to use. As players progressed through the ranks, aiming to reach the NHL, they would obviously settle on which way they preferred to shoot (in reality after a few training sessions). Using a curved stick enables them to have more control when stick handling, and also makes lifting shots easier. A curved stick does make backhands harder to control, but this obviously isn't a big enough handicap for some players. If it weren't for the fact that they can draw a penalty for illegal equipment some players would no doubt use the hockey equivalent of a boomerang. These days, straight sticks are more or less non-existent in Canada, and more so in the UK, so how does a rookie decide which way to shoot ? The obvious answer is that they use what seems most natural, and once they've played with the stick for a while they will feel comfortable with it. Whilst this works, this is a fundamental difference between the hockey played in the UK, and elsewhere in the world. A recent survey on the Internet showed that a significant number of British players, regardless of handedness, shoot right. However. in Canada the majority of players shoot the opposite way to their handedness. This was the major difference in the survey, and the Western USA showing a similar trend to the UK. Interestingly, these figures are also backed up by figures of sticks sold, with the rest of the world selling approximately 90% with a left curve, whereas the UK has figures of 91.2% right curve in 1994 - which has shown a gradual decline to 88.5% in 1997, perhaps this is due to the influx of left shooting Canadians and Euro-Cans in recent years. So, I ask again, how does a rookie decide which way to shoot ? In Canada, their national sport is Ice Hockey, so the youngsters will be less influenced by other sports than, for example, in Britain, where Cricket, Golf, Tennis and Field Hockey are the most similar, in that they involve a stick, club, racquet or bat. These sports all involve, either the need for power from the strongest hand, or a very limited supply of "southpaw" equipment, which would perhaps explain why 98% of goalie sticks in the country are left curve, a stick is relatively cheap when compared with the cost of a catcher and blocker. Many of the replies to the previously mentioned survey tried to explain how they play the way they do. The over-riding explanation from those who shoot opposite to their handedness is a combination of the following reasons:
having the strongest hand at the top of the stick enables them to exert more control when stick handling
the power does not come from the arms, but from the whole movement of the body, and as such there is no need for the power hand to be low down on the stick
their backhand shot is comparatively strong. Interestingly enough, a couple of Canadians pointed out the disproportional number of left-handed golfers in their homeland. Also, it can be seen if you study the multi-national NHL rosters, and those of the European teams, that it seems to be that the only British players who are so much more likely to shoot the same way as their handedness. So, I ask again, how does a rookie decide which way to shoot ?

Dr. Tom Pashby, the internationally recognized ophthalmologist, has been keeping track of sports related eye injuries since 1972. His statistics show that ice hockey accounts for over 40% of all eye injuries over those years. Racket sports, the second most common cause, account for about one-quarter of eye injuries. War games, which are relatively new, have resulted in 80 eye injuries, including 33 blindings. Over four million Canadians play hockey. Men and women of all ages use rented ice surfaces, non-regulated community rinks, ponds, even roads. Adult amateurs comprise 85 per cent of non-competitive, recreational hockey players. In the late 1970s the Canadian Hockey Association ruled that all minor league players must wear helmets and face masks certified by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). In 1981, the Canadian Hockey League made the same rule for its junior hockey players. But only half of the hockey players in Canada fall under CHA or CHL jurisdiction. All other players are exempt from regulations requiring personal protection. "Helmets and face protectors are not mandatory for most adult recreational players," notes Canada Safety Council president Emile Therien, "but that doesn't mean these players are immune to injury. Most injuries are entirely preventable by wearing protective equipment, without compromising the appeal and fun of the game. "Statistics clearly show that wearing protection prevents eye injuries. In the 1974-75 hockey season, before minor hockey players were required to wear face masks, there were 258 eye injuries including 43 blinded eyes; the average age of a player suffering an eye injury was 14. In the 1992-93 season only 31 players reported eye injuries, including four blinded eyes; the average age had risen to 33. In the 2001-2002 season, only four eye injuries were reported, including two blinded eyes. Mr. Therien credits this drop to the protection provided by the face masks. A total of 311 eyes have been blinded since 1972. Not one of these injuries was suffered by a player wearing a Canadian Standards Association (CSA) certified full-face protector. However, during the past few hockey seasons, nine players have suffered a blinding injury while wearing certified visors (half shields). In all cases, it is suspected the visors were not properly positioned. Helmets must be secured to the head by a taut chin cup, not a loose neck strap. Some professional hockey players won't wear proper protective gear. Their excuse? Face protection is restrictive and could interfere with their performance. In the NHL alone, players not wearing a shield account for 95 per cent of all eye and face injuries requiring treatment. The fact the big leagues have not made such equipment mandatory flies in the face of common sense, says Mr. Therien. "Not only that, it sets a terrible example for the public. "The Canada Safety Council recommends that hockey players of all ages, whether organized or not, should wear a CSA-certified helmet and visor to protect the head and eyes. Head and Face Protection For Hockey
Replace your hockey helmet every seven years, and never buy a used one. In older helmets the plastic may weaken and lose its ability to absorb impact, or the lining may deteriorate.
Look for the CSA mark. That assures the helmet and face protector meet or exceed existing CSA safety standards.
Make sure the equipment fits properly. The helmet should fit snugly; secure it to the head by a taut chin cup. The face protector can be fastened to the helmet.
Practise wearing your new face protector with the helmet before using it in a game. For instance, watch television with it on, to get used to seeing through the mask.
Never tamper with your equipment. Cutting the wire of a face mask dangerously weakens the whole structure - CSA certification assures protection with good peripheral vision. Loose chin straps or a thin liner reduces a helmet's ability to prevent a concussion.
Make sure the wire structure on your face protector is solid and there are no broken wires.
Inspect plastic visors or protectors for scratches (which may limit vision) or cracks (which weaken the structural strength).
If your helmet is cracked, discard it. CSA-certified hockey helmets can sustain more than one impact, but a crack signals very serious damage.

Infections Serious New NHL Foe
By John Glennon
Staff Writer

Hockey teams are accustomed to seeing players fall by the wayside because of broken bones, sprained ligaments or torn tendons.
But a malady of a different sort has sidelined a handful of the game's more prominent names this season. Infections that began as simple cuts or irritations have turned far more dangerous, forcing Toronto's Ed Belfour to the bench, Boston's Joe Thornton to the operating table and Toronto's Mikael Renberg to the point that amputation was considered.
The latest casualty was Detroit's Darren McCarty, who just days ago went on injured reserve for 2-3 weeks after suffering an infection in his elbow.The serious consequences of infection are no surprise to Predators Coach Barry Trotz, who once had to undergo emergency surgery for an ankle infection. Nor do they come as news to veteran Predators defenseman Bill Houlder, who once saw San Jose teammate Gary Suter's tricep muscle nearly eaten away by infection.
But this year's batch of bad news certainly has opened players' eyes to the implications of infection. "It's just like anything in that you don't pay much attention to it until it's something serious,'' Predators defenseman Cale Hulse said. ''But it seems to have popped up a lot this year for some reason. "Before, you might be wiping the snow off your skate, cut your finger and not even think about it. But now you're definitely thinking about covering it up right away.''
It's no surprise that NHL locker rooms, home to two dozen sweating men and their equipment a couple of times per day, can be breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria. Trainers and equipment managers do their best to sterilize the environment - sanitizing bathrooms, cleaning wounds and washing uniforms and equipment. But sometimes it's not enough. Players are often tripped up by what seem to see the most innocent difficulties. Belfour missed four games this season when he cut his hand on the buckle of his goalie pad and the sore became infected. That was nothing compared to the plight of his teammate, Renberg, who sliced open his hand while tying skates during a Toronto road trip. Bacteria, possibly from Renberg's gloves, entered the wound and he eventually had to be rushed to a Vancouver hospital. Reports said doctors considered amputating Renberg's hand because the infection had become so severe, but the Maple Leafs' right wing later downplayed the situation. "There has been too much made of that,'' he said. ''But I was scared. The doctors couldn't give me the answers I wanted right away. I know if I'd come in a day later, it might have been much worse. 'Most of the problems are staph infections, caused by the staphylococcus aureus bacteria that's commonly found living on the skin of many people. When it enters the body, usually through an open cut or break in the skin, it can lead to problems as simple as boils or abscesses, or to serious conditions like food poisoning, toxic-shock syndrome and pneumonia, among others. Hockey players have battled the bacteria for decades. Trotz, for instance, can recall a frightening incident from his playing days.A small cut on his ankle, repeatedly irritated by Trotz's sockless skates, turned into a serious enough infection that a doctor drained the swollen wound.
''He said if it came back, we'd have to take the next step,'' Trotz said. ''The next day, it swelled right back up again, so I went to see him. He looked at it and said, 'Can you be at the hospital by one o'clock?' ''Trotz underwent an operation in which doctors scraped his ankle bone to remove the infection. He took antibiotics the next two months to complete the healing process. Dan Redmond, head athletic trainer for the Predators, said conditions surrounding players these days are far better than they were in the past.
''Obviously, there's a lot of sweaty guys with equipment, and you've got them on buses and planes together," he said. ''But we clean and sanitize showers regularly, and their practice gear gets washed every day. "I think one of the biggest things now is that their equipment [shoulder pads, shin pads, etc.] gets washed on a pretty regular basis now, too. In the old days, they didn't wash that as much. And you see guys turning their equipment over a lot more these days, instead of keeping one pair of gloves for 10 years or something like that. 'Drugs, for instance, weren't enough to turn around the infection of Boston's Thornton, one that began as a simple split elbow in late December. He wound up missing almost two weeks of the season in January, spending six days in the hospital and undergoing surgery to clean the elbow. Thornton was forced to sleep with his arm propped straight in the air, allowing the infection to drain out.
''You hear all those horror stories, but you never believe that it could happen to you,'' Thornton said. ''It is pretty scary because you don't know what's going to happen. 'It's out of your control. It was a little weird.''

Hockey is a Fast, Physical Game with
the Potential for Injury at Every Turn.
Chuck Brown
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

But while helmets, shin guards, elbow pads and leather gloves offer protection against body checks, stick slashes and careening pucks, they can't protect against microscopic invaders.

Some of hockey's biggest stars learned over the past season that not only is their protective gear useless against bacterial threats, it actually provides a lush and fertile home to them.

An early victim of hockey gear infection was Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour. He was sidelined early in the season after a cut on his finger from an eyelet on his skate became infected. What he thought was a minor nick soon festered into a severely swollen hand that required antibiotics and rest.

In December, teammate Mikael Renberg suffered an even more serious infection after he cut his hand while tying his skates. The wound became infected and Mr. Renberg was taken to hospital with a 104-degree fever. Doctors discussed amputating the hand in order to save his life. Mr. Renberg said he was fortunate the team's athletic therapist got him to hospital quickly enough to avoid amputation, maybe even death. He, and some other players, now wear gloves while lacing their skates to avoid cuts or blisters.

Around the same time, Boston Bruins star Joe Thornton was sidelined with an elbow infection. His elbow ballooned after he fell and injured it.

Other players have also been felled by tiny opponents. In past seasons, Maple Leafs Steve Thomas and Jeff Brown both were out of the line-up with severe infections.

Cuts are common and sweaty hockey gear, particularly dark, dank hockey gloves, are ideal factories for germs. Combine the two and you have a perfect recipe for infection.And while those injuries may seem unusual, even freakish, what's truly surprising is that they don't happen more often.

HORRORS OF A HOCKEY MOM

Firstly, ice-hockey should be classified as an extreme sport... extremely expensive, that is.

Deborah Ross once wrote an article for The Independent newspaper all about the trials and joys of being a football mum to her eight year old son. She bemoaned things like having to travel to away matches in, to her mind, obscure parts of London, the odd pieces of football gear cluttering up the hallway and her inability to understand the offside rule. My immediate reaction was ˜She doesn't know the half of it. I have twin lads who have been playing junior league ice-hockey for over four years. So please allow me now to relate to you what a sporting motherhood is really all about.
Right, for starters, never mind "Walthamstow, Whetstone and Wanstead". In our dreams. Away matches? Away means Isle of Wight, Cardiff and Bristol, or how about Basingstoke, Bracknell and Slough? Mind you, I still maintain that for Cardiff to be classified as lying within the realms of the South East of England, one's vantage point would have to be somewhere adrift in the mid-Atlantic, wouldn't you say?

Well, if Deb's got problems with coming to grips with offside, I'm now into my fourth season as hockey mum and I still haven't quite figured out when 'icing the puck' is not 'icing the puck'. This means that 33% of the rules of ice-hockey remain beyond my comprehension. Sad innit? Seeing as there only are three rules in the game. Still, I know a good offside when I see one.

And football mums don't even begin to qualify for starter ranks when it comes to sports equipment clutter. Shin pads and goalie gloves - peuh! We HMs are talking ten pieces of protective body gear plus skates and stick. Oh, and not forgetting pucks, sock tape and stick tape. A modest mention must be made here of my stick taping skills which have been described by the players as being, Cor - nang! Can you do mine? I know your Mum can be the club's stick taper!

No way - get lost And please remember, in my case, to double all of the above. Home match days. Seeing as seven off-ice officials are required before play can commence, there is no such word as volunteering in ice-hockey clubs; the effective word is delegation. Whiny and pathetic excuses like ˜But I'd rather just watch and cheer them on..." are dismissed with a look of incredulity and a shall- we-run-that-one-past-you-again cock of the eyebrow.
You can be a goal judge, can't you?
Also, please note that out of an estimated eighty parents in my boys former club, only two have ever done the scoring. There's no pre- or post-match chill out chit-chat over cups of coffee if you're the scorer. It's - collecting licenses from both teams, collecting team lists and starting line ups, filling out team lists on a gamesheet, amending previous neatly written columns on same when assistant coach informs you that half the players' shirt numbers have changed because the shirts suddenly don't fitâ. Scorers quickly learn to refrain from asking Er, why don't they fit? It has also been well known for coaches to completely forget and scorers become fairly adept at not panicking, having to make do with a muttered Oh shit! Who's that out on ice in a number 12 shirt? There's no *!!* number 12 on this list!

I won't even begin to take you down the road on the filling out a gamesheet, save to say that the ability to subtract rapidly from 20 and 60 is essential. And the ability to think when rock and garage music is blasting out right next to your ear-hole is highly desirable. The sixty-three or so official penalty classifications in hockey cater for all temperaments, ranging from :
The Gentleman - Altercation, Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
The Warrior - Charging, Slashing, Spearing.
The Hooligan - Head Butting, Kicking, Kneeing.
The Arrested Developer - Refusing to Start Play, Throwing the Stick/Puck.
and for the odd player who instead of playing the game images him or herself to be on the game - Obscene Language, Hooking, Molesting Officials, Interference with Spectators, Adjustment of Equipment.

After matches, data from the goal judge sheets are calculated and added to gamesheet; gamesheet has to be handed to the referee for checking and signing off, which still feels like taking your sums to teacher for marking; pink copy given to visiting team and their licenses returned; top sheet faxed to English Ice Hockey Association immediately after game or the club incurs a fine.

At this juncture, scoring mothers usually heave a big sigh of relief, contemplate grabbing a coffee and nipping outside for a quick and much needed ciggie. But, without fail, as a is followed by b, sweaty junior will then appear out from the changing room, staggering, with a touch of exaggeration, under the weight of humongous gear bag (which he'll dump at your feet), and say querulously ˜Mum, take this to the car. And can I have a pound for a drink please?

Once again, please do remember that in my case we always have the action replay.
It is debatable whether getting good at hockey is advisable or not. If that sounds like not fulfilling one's moral duty to one's offspring then pay heed to the Wisdom of Horror Hockey mum.
Firstly, ice-hockey should be classified as an extreme sport... extremely expensive, that is.
Secondly, getting wicked at hockey means that the team's coach will most probably select your child to partake in the South-East Conference Team trials. That sounds rather grand doesn't it? Friends and family are always impressed. You will find yourself delivering players to Ally Pally ice rink at nine thirty in the evening one Friday in four and then sitting in the freezing cold for the next three and three quarter hours. Yes, I know, that makes it about one fifteen in the morning. Tee hee hee!" you may wonder why I am sniggering? Well I live near enough to warrant coming home in between. There are those who have traipsed down from Buckinghamshire and other exotic places like that.
In the meantime, your precious undergoes an hour's off-ice training, followed by an hour and a half's on-ice training and finally, may be required to speed skate x number of laps round the rink; or if they been good, get to have a little scrimmage. And if your poor wee Johnny's shattered and can't hack that final torture, I'm afraid there'll be no National Tournament for him - or Finland next spring. (Strange things used to take place every fourth Friday; child came home from school, had tea and then declared "I'm off to bed Mum, I'm going to sleep now.") Where was I? Oh yes, Finland, Finland?!!
˜What? You're both going to Finland for four days, and I'm expected to come too. What d'ya think I'm made of? Money? Oh of course, I momentarily forgot, you do think that, how dumb of me!

After three days of extensive phone-calls and a handful of begging letters to sports bodies, charities, trusts and Richard Branson, it transpired that funding for under-16s is non-existent. You have been warned. This season, my sons have decided to set their sights higher and have transferred from their old league club, which was ever so conveniently situated five minutes down the road from home, up to one in the league (at the invitation of the latter, I may add) thirty six miles away. And involves worming your way through the Blackwall Tunnel during the Monday evening rush hour, or to be more precise, hours. What have I done to deserve all this? I ask myself.

But even to a complete abhorrer of sports like myself, there still exists a certain glamour to my lads expensive choice of game. The speed, power and graceful ease with which they propel themselves across the ice, skilfully balanced on fine slices of steel, can approach pure poetry in motion. And to my eye, the ice-hockey stick possesses elegant proportions comparable with an object d'art of the minimalist school. (I certainly hope one day to be seeing them paraded as ultra-cool fashion accessories down some designer catwalk.)

But finally, I'm sure the exhilaration and ecstasy experienced when one of my darlings sends that puck flying into the top corner of the net, is synonymous to any Deb's felt on a wet and muddy Sunday morning in Walthamstow.'

So if anyone out there wishes a Rough Guide to Ice Rinks or alternatively, a Guide to Rough old Rinks, please feel free to contact me. Also, for any children's author fancy doing a really original turn, insider info. on junior ice-hockey clubs can be supplied on request, for that touch of magic realism.'

© Amy Chan 2001

07 April 2004

The loud rough and tumble of ice hockey is a far cry from the cultural refinements of opera.

But Prague's prestigious National Theatre has matched the two very different worlds, coming up with the idea of staging a contemporary opera inspired by the Czech national ice hockey team's gold medal success in the 1988 winter Olympics in the Japanese city of Nagano.

"Why can't the hockey player represent the modern-day hero, the strong battleman in both physical and mental terms?" said the opera's composer Martin Smolka.

The world premiere of "Nagano" will be staged on Thursday evening in the Estates Theatre, complete with singers dressed in hockey jerseys and an orchestra chief dressed in the traditional striped referees jacket.

Set in the heart of the Czech capital's historic old town, the beautiful grand Estates Theatre -- one of three National Theatre venues -- has an equally glorious history; it was here in 1787 that Mozart conducted the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni.

That's why "Nagano" has provoked reproval among often-conservative opera fans. "Even within the orchestra," admitted Smolka, a 45-year-old Czech.

"The 20th century has already weakened the opera genre enough, sometimes it is transposed into bizarre spheres," he emphasised in an interview with AFP.

"Our opera is even rather conventional, using characteristic traits such as pathos and excitement," he added.

"Nagano is not a mockery, a parody or an attack on anyone's honour. Of course it is unusual but my God we need something to happen, otherwise opera is dead," insists the show's producer, Ondrej Havelka.

Even though it hasn't even been seen yet publicly the show has met with an icy reception among conservative opera buffs, largely due to its completely-masculine theme.

The libretto's author, comedian Jaroslav Dusek, however, is keen to reassure people about the show's female elements, pointing out the chorus of women and two female characters -- a geisha and a Japanese spectator who falls in love with a Czech player.

"And also a dancer who represents the puck," he added.

And, points out Dusek, the opera is composed not of traditional acts but of three periods just like in a hockey match.

"The first period takes place in the changing rooms, the second recreates the matches with the United States, Canada and Russia and the final period is devoted to the medal ceremony," says Dusek.

The tenors, baritones and bass stars of the National Theatre transformed themselves for this occasion into a large array of real-life characters: world hockey stars such as Dominik Hasek and Jaromir Jagr, former Czech president Vaclav Havel and the former head of the Olympic committee Juan Antonio Samaranch.

"The forwards are personified as tenors as in the tradition in opera for heroes. As for Hasek, a goalkeeper nicknamed "God" by supporters, we opted for a double tenor with the voice of an angel," explained Smolka.

However it is the third goalkeeper of the team, Milan Hnilicka, who is the principle character in the work.

"Unluckily, he did not play a single minute at Nagano and the conclusion was that he did not get his gold medal afterwards, because Samaranch believed that this fellow in a tracksuit standing at the side of his teammates in sweat-soaked jerseys was an intruder from the public," said the composer.

The National Theatre obtained special permission from all the real people featured in the production.

"I have never been in an opera," said Hnilicka, who nowadays is goalkeeper with the Los Angeles Kings in North America's National Hockey League (NHL).

"Unfortunately I will not be in Prague on April 8 so the premiere will be held without me," he said.