One of the province’s largest weekend draws in female hockey is only getting better.
Girls hockey players from Lloydminster to Cranbrook will be descending upon the foothills this weekend for the fifth annual Okotoks Female Hockey Tournament, which has been increased to accommodate 34 teams in eight divisions for 2012.
“This year we’ve expanded with two Atom girls divisions,” said tournament co-chair Jennifer Dustow. “It’s very exciting for female hockey actually.”
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the event, the nine participating teams from the Okotoks Minor Hockey Association are being given expanded team bonding opportunities.
“Our home teams are going to have use of the community room for one hour each on Saturday where they will participate in team bonding,” Dustow said. “It’s an opportunity for them to hang out together and it’s something we’ve never done before.”
On the ice, the Okotoks teams will be looking to build off a great tournament last year in which local squads won the gold medal in Atom A and took silver in Peewee A and Novice.
This time around, Okotoks will feature teams in both the Midget A and Midget B divisions.
Okotoks Midget Tier 2 manager Bob Thodas said the Okotoks tournament is a terrific barometer for how his team stacks up with the rest of the province.
“We look forward to it quite a bit, it’s our big tournament and it showcases hockey in Alberta in the girls divisions,” Thodas said. “We always get teams all throughout the province and it’s a good gauge to see where we stand with other Midget 2 teams.”
Thodas has been involved with the tournament for several years and though he’s yet to be part of a gold medal team, he’s optimistic the leadership of head coach Stu Rowley will guide the team to a podium finish.
“We hope to do extremely well in the tournament and hopefully we will be playing in the championship game,” Thodas said. “But that’s up to the girls.”
If their regular season is any indication, the Midget 2 team could be poised for a strong showing on the weekend.
Okotoks has started its Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League season brightly with a 4-2 record and features a nice balance of youth and experience.
“There’s a fair bit of first-year players on our hockey team,” Thodas said. “The one thing about our team is that, arguably so, there are girls that can compete at the 1 or 2 level and that’s the wonderful thing about the girls program in Okotoks.”
The tournament will also feature Bantam A, Peewee A, Peewee B, Atom A, Atom house and Novice divisions for the three-day event.
First-year Okotoks Bantam Tier 1 head coach Travis Thiessen said his players have enjoyed the tournament both on and off the ice in past years.
“I’ve heard it’s just a phenomenal event and the girls really enjoy it and there’s some good competition as well,” Thiessen said. “There’s lots off ice going on, all sorts of action at that rec centre and Centennial for the weekend so it’s a good time for the girls.”
The Bantam Tier 1 Oilers have yet to compete in a comprehensive tournament, but have posted a 2-2-1 record in the Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League this season.
“The girls tournament this weekend is what we’re building towards and looking forward to,” Thiessen said. “It will be the first time they’ve had more than one game in a day.”
Tournament organizers and volunteers have been diligently planning for the event for more than six weeks, with an emphasis on getting all of the travelling teams to partake in the local culture.
“We bring in 500 plus athletes to Okotoks for the hockey tournament plus their family and friends so upwards of 1,500 plus people are brought into town,” Dustow said. “We try and encourage people to stay within the community and participate in the activities going on.”
The organizers have worked closely with the Town and local businesses to ensure the economic impact of the tournament is considerable.
“We have local restaurants with special coupons geared towards the athletes in the tournament,” Dustow said. “We hope to get them out eating and staying and playing in our community.”
The Okotoks Female Hockey Tournament goes Nov. 16 to 18 at the Pason Centennial Arena as well as Murray and Piper arenas in the Okotoks Recreation Centre.
For more information go to www.okotokshockey.com.
