On Dec. 29, all eyes will be on the Rotary Spirit Centre to watch the young rising hockey stars take to the ice to practice their skills, as the third annual TimBits Initiation tournament rolls into town.
Normally the day-long event is scheduled in February, but with the upcoming Boston Pizza Cup curling championship, it needed to get bumped forward.
“At this age it’s so exciting for the kids to have all their fans come out and support them,” said tournament organizer Vanessa Boulerice.
“We always say that it’s the little guys that fill the arena. All those little things for them make it fun for them at this age. We’ve got lots of goodies for the players like cookies and candies for them.”
Alongside Westlock’s three teams and 38 players, an additional seven teams from Onoway, Morinville, Sturgeon County and Barrhead will be joining the team. In total, 150 players and their families are expected to fill the arena.
“It’s a day tournament, and most teams are local,” explained Boulerice.
“But they’re here all day, so that’s a substantial amount of people coming into the community all at once.”
This is the fourth year that the tournament has been held in Westlock, though it has only been an official TimBits tournament for the last three. Since this is a developmental tournament, the rules are more intended to help players develop their skills than to determine winners and losers.
Games will be played at half-ice to allow players more time to work on shooting and stick handling and not have to cover as much ice to get to the net. Players will be limited to three goals a game, and coaches will be on the ice to help players work on their abilities. Scores are not kept and all participating teams get medals.
“At this age, it’s more about having fun. Hockey Alberta has recommended that we change the ice surface to be a smaller size,” she said.
“It’s something that Westlock has been doing for the last two years.”
Play starts at 9 a.m.
