It wasn't unanimous, but the numbers did blindside more than a few observers.

Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association's directors voted overwhelmingly to remove bodychecking from all house level divisions, beginning next season.

By a vote of 123-39, the executive members from the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast decided that there will be no more hitting in its house and recreation-level peewee, midget, bantam and juvenile divisions.

Hitting will continue to be permitted in rep hockey, beginning in peewee - although another motion to take it out of peewee A was also passed and will now go to a province-wide vote later this summer.

Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) president Brian Keenan was surprised by the overwhelming result.

"It was certainly a contentious debate with strong views taken on both sides," said Keenan.

In preparation for the vote, CMHA surveyed its membership and saw a near even split among respondents. While a slight majority of those who answered the survey wanted to eliminate body checking, his executive felt the margin was such that he couldn't support the motion.

"I personally think this whole process was rushed... in the end Coquitlam voted to reject the resolution, so we were definitely in the minority," Keenan said.

The presidents for both Port Coquitlam and Port Moody amateur hockey associations, who voted in support of the motion, felt the discussion and proceeding vote were well thought out.

"I think there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue," said David Lee, Port Moody minor president. "For some, hitting is a large part of the sport, while others believe that the incidents of injuries and risks are not worth it."

Both associations surveyed its membership, with the results showing solid support for a ban.

While taking hitting out of the game won't eliminate injuries, Port Coquitlam minor hockey president Brian Lowe said it's a step that will create an even playing field for teams that have had to add hitting to their game depending upon the district they are playing against.

"I think what this tells everyone is that in house hockey there is no grey area anymore. Through a season our (house) teams have had to turn it on and turn it off depending on who and where they are playing, but that won't be the case now," said Lowe.

Hitting had been introduced for play-ers entering peewee hockey in both rep and house (recreation) leagues.

The move to eliminate hitting has come over concerns about growing incidents of concussions and other injuries - which is getting more media coverage with the recent injuries to NHL players like Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux, to name a few.

Hitting is not permitted in East Kootenay, North East/Yukon, Okanagan Mainline, Vancouver Island and West Kootenay recreation hockey leagues. The jurisdictions that still permit bodychecking in rec/house hockey are North Central, North West and Peace River districts.

Across Canada, other provinces that have banned body checking include Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

The PCAHA governs 42 minor associations, with approximately 20,000 players from ages five to 20.