The puck will drop on 15 years of a top-tier female hockey showcase this weekend.
The Okotoks Female Hockey Classic hits the milestone with 48 teams from three provinces competing in 10 divisions, including 13 hometown Oilers and Raiders teams taking to the ice at the Okotoks Centennial Arenas, Okotoks Recreation Centre and Scott Seaman Sports Rink from Nov. 11-13.
“It’s a super exciting year,” said tournament co-chair Jennifer Dustow. “Especially coming off COVID and last year we weren’t sure if the tournament would go, would it not? Nobody really knew what direction sports would take. Luckily, we were able to host.
“This year, there’s no stress, there’s no pressure. It’s just going to be a fun event for the girls and as we continue to grow it gets more and more fun.”
Teams will compete in 10 unique divisions ranging from U18 A to U9.
Okotoks will ice two Oilers teams in U18B, U15 B, U11 B and U9 along with single teams in U18 A, U15 A, U13 B, U11 A. The Okotoks-based Rocky Mountain Raiders will also feature as part of the U13 AA competition.
Though the majority of the Classic field calls Alberta home, the tournament has also drawn teams from B.C. and Saskatchewan, representing communities in Sparwood, Saskatoon, Warman and Battlefords, to name a few.
On the volunteer side of the equation, the Okotoks female hockey community is all playing a role to make the event happen.
“Luckily, we’ve always had a lot of support within the community as far as businesses go, they help us offset the tournament expenses,” Dustow said. “We try and encourage our guests to get out into our community and enjoy what it has to offer for that weekend.
“Our volunteer base is pulled strictly from our female hockey program. Our parents are given shifts that co-ordinate around their team schedules so that they don’t have to miss watching their daughters play. I put a lot of effort into my volunteer schedule so that it works for everybody, but it takes the whole female membership pulling together to pull this event off.”
Last year marked a resumption of activities following a one-year hiatus in 2020 amid the pandemic with Okotoks winning four divisions in the return of the competition.
“I’ve been doing this for 12 of the 15 years and I was saying to my co-partner, ‘Have we not missed something? It seems like it’s going awfully easy,’” Dustow said. “One, because we’ve been doing it for a while and, two, you don’t have to have that alternative plan. You’re not always thinking, ‘Do we need to shift gears? What’s going to happen.’
“It should be fun this year and seems to be coming together quite easily and we’re excited to get the event underway.”
For more information, including schedule and locations, visit omhatournaments.com.
