Hockey parents descended on the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Complex to see their young kids play in a fun hockey tournament.
Hosted Jan. 12 and 13, six teams with players aged five and six played in Ponoka Minor Hockey’s Winter Wonderland tournament, said Ponoka mites team manager Breanne Parker. It took “countless hours and tanks of gas,” for organizers to get the tournament ready. She feels it took everyone working together to pull it off, from sponsorship to ice times, Parker was grateful to parents for their dedication.
The main goal for the tournament was to raise enough money for team jackets, which she feels they were close to getting. Having six teams rather than eight also made organizing easier and fewer breaks between games.
Pressure was taken off coaches and players by having every team play three games each with no finals.
“Every kid gets a prize,” Parker said. There were two prizes handed out at each game as well; a Heart and Hustle Award with a gift certificate, and a sportsmanship T-shirt.
“It’s nice at this level because it’s all about the kids,” Parker stated.
There were no negative complaints to organizers, she said. “We have a good group of parents so it worked out well.”