West Edmonton Mall hosts Alberta Table Hockey Championships

By Mathew White

EDMONTON — Goals were scored and saves were made, all with the flick of the wrist at the Alberta Stiga Table Hockey Championships.

The Edmonton Table Hockey League held their annual table hockey championship at West Edmonton Mall on Saturday, Jan. 29.

The ETHL has been a local table hockey organization since 2005.  The league has more than 30 members, and meets 10 times a year to compete.

Players of all shapes and sizes graced the stage Saturday, competing on either a standard, or international Stiga table.

The game itself is roughly the size of a classroom desk, and resembles a foosball table, only it’s hockey instead of soccer.  The puck is about the size of a nickel, and has a tendency of bouncing out of the rink.

The event ran the entire day and had players facing off in a number of five-minute matches.  But there’s no resting in table hockey.

Between each game a tally of the scores is taken, and after a quick cleaning of the rods, the next game begins.  On average, the process takes about three minutes.

Spectators came and went as they made their rounds through the mall, not able to pass without taking a better look at this group of table-hockey enthusiasts.

In the end, Edmonton’s own Reggie Stefaniszyn won the championship after winning all four games in the series against Kent Richter.

The league’s next competition will be on Sunday, Feb. 27.