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Alberta Pond Hockey Championships in Grimshaw, Alberta. Photo Credit: Alberta Pond Hockey Championships Facebook.
By Shane Clausing
Pond Hockey Championship

Alberta Pond Hockey Championship returns to Cardinal Lake Friday

Mar 3, 2020 | 3:19 PM

The 12th annual Alberta Pond Hockey Championship takes place this weekend at Cardinal Lake in Grimshaw.

The three-day hockey tournament brings together 64 teams and 350 players from across Alberta and Western Canada, all competing for a chance to play in the championship game on Sunday.

The tournament offers a variety of different divisions to meet the skill level of all players.

In previous years the tournament has seen teams from Australia and Norway compete in the tournament. However this year there are no international teams registered for the event.

The tournament begins at 2:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon. There are six pools set-up and teams will play in those pools until the end of the day on Saturday. Each team gets to play a minimum of five games. The playoff round begins on Sunday.

Half of the teams in the tournament qualify for the playoffs, while the other half that doesn’t qualify for the playoffs get to compete in a consolation bracket.

Sunday also features a tournament specifically for seven local Ringette teams from across the Peace Region, and a Junior Division for kids aged 5-12.

Those who aren’t playing in the tournaments won’t have to worry about trying to keep busy.

Over the course of the weekend, there will be live music, snow sculptures, ice skating, food, and beer garden. Last year the tournament had helicopter rides for spectators to purchase tickets for, however, that will not be returning this year.

New at this year’s tournament is an event called ‘Studs on Ice’ which features Motorcycle/ATV racing right next to the hockey rink. Admission for the event is $10 per person, children under the age of 12 get in for free. The race isn’t associated with the tournament, but it’s happening in the same area.

“It’s a great event and I think with the motocross folks out there doing their ice racing on Saturday, it just adds for something more for people to see coming out that day,” said Dave Allen the President of the Alberta Pond Hockey Association. “If people have never been out to see the pond hockey event it’s a pretty spectacular event to see.”

Despite the warm weather from the last week, Allen said that the ice conditions are looking good for the weekend

“The ice is good, the biggest problem we’re running into is the wind. It’s warm, but the warm doesn’t hurt us too much. It’s a little soft right now but we know it’s going to cool down here as we get later in the week. But the wind right now is just blowing any loose snow and creating a few drifts here and there. Right now, everything looks pretty good,” said Allen.

Over the course of the weekend, 150 volunteers help put on the event.

The championship final takes place at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

by Shane Clausing