Road hockey tourney debuts in Wiky on Saturday First Nation vying for Hockeyville nod

WIKWEMIKONG-Teams from as far away as Sagamok and Sudbury will be travelling to the Island this coming weekend for the January 10 Road Hockey Tournament in Wikwemikong. Teams will be testing their skills among other teams from the island for supremacy and bragging rights, but most of all prize money.

One of the major reasons for putting on this tournament this Saturday is to prepare Wikwemikong for the 2009 Kraft Hockeyville Contest. By demonstrating keen hockey spirit and dedication to the sport by hosting the event, Wikwemikong could, if selected the Hockeyville winner, get up to $100,000 in arena upgrades and be able to stage an NHL game right here on Manitoulin. W TV5 will be covering the action this weekend, doing interviews with every player so that they can share their stories about why Wikwemikong should be the host for 2009 Hockeyville for Canada.

“Right now we have five teams confirmed for the weekend, but we expect more teams,” said Shane Cooper, from the Wikwemikong Tourism Information Centre. “We will have two divisions: Division A, which will be 15 and under, and Division B, which will be 16 and over.”

The cost to join the tournament is $10/team. Only five players are needed for a team. “Division A will be playing on the Pontiac school grounds, while Division B will be played on the parking lot at the Wikwemikong arena,” said Mr. Cooper. Games begin at 10 am.” Trophies will be handed out at the end of the day to the winners.

Posters for this event have been distributed throughout Manitoulin and area, and Mr. Cooper has spent time going around to the local schools to promote the hockey tournament. Community members, their noisemakers and family and friends of players are welcome to attend the weekend event.

“We want to make this an annual event, so we want people to come out and support the tournament,” said Mr. Cooper. Vendors are encouraged to sell hot chocolate or other food and beverages at the tournament.

Don’t miss out. The only required equipment is a stick, but gloves are strongly encouraged too. For information, please call Shane Cooper at: (705) 859-3477.