Solar Bears

http://www.scribd.com/full/32828006?access_key=key-1fklhmb3uim3vtw2oh5b (click this link to read a great article on the team)
Just a few years back the borders between southern Cyprus and northern Cyprus were riddled with many rules and regs.  In fact the travel book I have states that the borders still close at 5PM.  Lucky for us, by the time we arrived, travellers are now able to cross and return at any time.  And lucky for Mike, who is an avid (and in my humble opinion - superior) hockey player, an ice rink of sorts had opened up in the north.  I say sorts because it looks like ice, and the team glides across it in their ice skates, but the composition of the floor is actually some kind of synthetic clear flooring that does not require water or ice.  Its really kind of crazy when you realize these guys are skating around on a type of plastic, but once the game gets going it looks and feels like you are at any ice rink in town.  What is even more amazing are that these guys are coming together - the south and the north - breaking down the borders that have been closed down since 1974.  The team he plays on are called the Solar Bears and these guys rock.  We won't be here long enough to see this new sport in Cyprus really take off, but I sure am proud that Mike is one of the forefathers of this brand new craze!