Sixteen hockey teams will converge in Williams Lake for the Dan LeClerc Memorial Hockey Tournament March 14 to 16.
The co-ed tournament honours the memory of LeClerc who worked for the British Columbia Forest Service.
LeClerc loved to organize and play hockey and baseball tournaments but was killed in a motor vehicle incident in 2002.
Organizer Rob Bardossy, a senior wildfire officer in aviation at the Cariboo Fire Cenre, said the tournament bounces around the province being hosted by different communities.
When there are 16 teams, though, not all communities can host that many.
“We are lucky here with our rink - we have two ice surfaces and can accommodate 16 teams and that many games.”
Originally there were not as many teams signed up yet in recent years, it has really grown.
There will be at least one team for each of B.C.’s six fire centres and some forest districts will send teams, Bardossy explained.
“It used to be more of a regular forest district tournament but then the fire centres started putting in teams. At Cariboo Fire Centre we put in four teams because we have enough capacity and interest.”
The tournament has also become more competitive over the years, although it is still fun, Bardossy said.
“We did have to put in some rules because the 20-year-olds and junior players wanted to participate and everybody started increasing the talent on their team.”
Now each team has to have at least three players over 35-years-old, at least three females and one female on the ice at all times.
Organizers even changing the rules to needing to have some players over 55-years-of-age, but that has not happened yet.
The tournament kicks off Friday evening, goes all day Saturday until 9 p.m. and then the finals are on Sunday.
Each team will play three games which will each have two 20-minute stop time periods. How teams do Friday and Saturday will determine when they play on Sunday.
On Saturday evening the teams will gather at Boston Pizza for dinner together.
“It will be packed. I’m sure we’ll max it out to capacity," Bardossy said, He thanked all the businesses in town that have donated raffle prizes, adding it helps keep the tournament going.
Encouraging everyone to come out and watch the games, he said people can expect “really good hockey.”
“In the beginning it was a bunch of us old farts that would skate around on the ice, just socializing at the rink, but it has gotten to be competitive.”
The raffles are open to the public and concession will be open during the tournament.
