The weekend of December 28 to the 30, 2021 was a chilly one with temperatures dropping to minus 30, but that did not stop hockey lovers in the area from strapping from their skates and hitting the ice.  

Organizer Alex Halat explained that the cold weather did have an impact on the tournament. 

“The challenge with this event, we have costs that were incurred that we weren't budgeting, for example, for diesel over the years, we budget about $1,500. We exceeded $8,000 this year due to the cold weather. We've had to add a couple more tents and whatnot just to keep our players warm.” 

In the end, Halat thinks that they were able to raise around $10,000 for two charities in the area.  

“This year we went with Synergy, which is a youth program that works with youth in Calgary and area and the other one is Camp Chestermere.” 

He explained that they try and donate to different charities every year.  

The volunteers and organizations were worried about the freezing temperatures before the event, but they were aghast with the number of people that showed up.  

“Considering it was minus 37 at some games, we didn't have any teams actually pull out of the event. We actually managed to play every single game.”  

Halat’s favourite memory from the tournament this year was a game between hockey and ringette players. Two ringette teams were supposed to play, but the majority of one team were unable to attend due to sickness. 

“We actually called a bunch of local teens and a bunch of  17 to 18-year-old boys to play this U-16 ringette team and the boys all showed up, turned their sticks upside down, and played against the girls,” he chuckled. “The boys only lost by one goal against the girls, and it was just awesome that they showed up, and the girls loved being able to actually play.” 

He also said another highlight was the number of young hockey players that came out even though it was so cold.  

"We had these 5, 6, 7-year-olds, even though they were cold down the bone they were still smiling and having fun and the parent was so creative bringing their fishing huts and heaters. The kids were coming off, jumping in there to warm up, and then went back on.”  

Nearly 70 teams took part in this weekend-long tournament and Halat is beyond grateful it went forward even with COVID-19 restrictions. He hopes to have the event grow bigger and better next year.  

“We were planning on bringing curling in this year, which unfortunately we didn't have a chance to just due to all the rules and regulations of adults participating and we'd like to also bring in a fishing derby next year. We want it to get bigger and bigger every year.”  

It takes over 30 to 40 volunteers to get the event off, and Halat said that is not counting the multiple players who would help shovel off the ice, pick up trash, and help in any way they could.  

He is looking forward to helping plan the Western Canada Pond Hockey Championship next year, and thanks everyone for volunteering their time and resources to the tournament.