There’s still room for pre-Novice and Novice-aged minor hockey teams to join one of the most unique minor hockey tournaments in the province.
Lac La Biche Kinsmen club organizers are putting out the last call for teams in their March 7 On the Pond hockey tournament. The tournament has been running for 14 years and is held again this year in memory of Kinsmen club Life Member and founder of the event Rob McCormick.
The fun day on the ice has drawn hundreds of teams from across Western Canada since it began as a “what-if” idea by the 35-or so Kinsmen club members in the northeastern Alberta community.
With the help of Lac La Biche County businesses, residents and other organizations, the tournament has grown to see up to 28 teams playing on eight rinks carved into a giant area on the frozen surface of Lac La Biche lake. Players and their families have come from Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC. Many of them return year after year — with new players from their communities — to experience the truly unique outdoor hockey experience.
“When the teams get here, it’s all set up for them,” says Gerry Webster, Lac La Biche Kinsmen Club’s president. “We have tents for them, referees, concessions, parking … we even have Zambonis flooding the ice in between games.”
The giant outdoor event turns a square kilometer of the near-shore ice surface into a hockey village.
McCormick, who was 56 when he passed away in December of 2016, sold the club and the community on the idea with one simple premise: Let the kids have fun.
Years later, that foundation is still what drives the event.
“It takes a lot of work to set this up — but oh man, it’s worth it when you see the kids having fun outside, skating and laughing,” said Webster.
Preparation for the event has been ongoing since last November as team register and sponsorships and equipment needs are filled. This weekend Kinsmen members will head to the ice to map out the rinks, dressing room tents, parking areas and concessions. In the weeks to come, Kinsmen members with the help of community groups, including Lac La Biche County municipal staff, will move tonnes of snow to create the On the Pond village.
“It’s an amazing project,” says Lorin Tkachuk, who is a Lac La Biche County municipal councilor as well as a Kinsmen Club member. “People come to the ice and can’t believe what they are seeing. It’s a great thing for our community, and it shows-off our Alberta hospitality.”
Teams looking to register can go online to the link at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIsPnc0huDfs13m7fgb5yZvbPpZXxMF-XXsLaizmXcNDSc7A/viewform
or go to the Lac La Biche Kinsmen Clubs website www.laclabichekinsmen.ca.
