PlayOn! Edmonton takes over West Edmonton Mall

By Trevor Robb

EDMONTON — Over 3,600 ball hockey players braved the frigid June temperatures on Saturday, as the puck dropped on the sixth annual ‘Hockey Night in Canada PlayOn!’ ball hockey tournament at West Edmonton Mall.

The four-on-four hockey tournament is played in 17 different cities all across Canada with four tournaments already being completed in Kelowna, Hamilton, London and Winnipeg. With 49 rinks, 120 volunteers and 542 teams – including over 100 teams on a waiting list – this years’ sold-out tournament is proving to be the biggest ever.

Event director, Vern Gerhardt, said the number of teams who applied to play this year was ‘staggering’. Both competitive and non-competitive teams of all skill levels are able to play at the tournament, so no one, regardless of how skilled, is left out.

“The goal of this tournament is to provide a place to play for anybody, that’s it,” said Gerhardt. “You could be a beginner-level hockey player who’s just playing street hockey in front of their street, or you can be a high-level competitive ball hockey player or ice-hockey player, we have a place for all of them to play.”

Players and teams are divided up into different conferences and divisions based on their age and skill level:
•    Tidbits: 7 and under
•    Youth: 9 and under – 19
•    Adult: 19 – 35 and older
•    Elite: 19 and older – competitive players only.
•    Corporate: same as Adult,

“The goal is to create a hockey-festival feel, and that’s what we’ve been able to accomplish here,” said Gerhardt.

Redwood Cup

The ‘Elite’ conference plays host to the most competitive of players. The two finalists from the ‘Elite’ conference will play for the Edmonton championship but both teams will qualify for the Redwood Cup tournament, which was held in Victoria, B.C. last year.

The Redwood Cup stands just over four feet and is heavier than the Stanley Cup, tipping the scales at over 63 pounds! The ‘Vancouver Ball Hoggz’ took home the national prize for the second straight year last year after defeating the Montreal Royal in a shootout, 6-5.

In February, 2012, as part of CBC’s ‘Hockey Day In Canada’ in Prince Edward Island, a new host city will be announced to host the Redwood Cup. Winners of the Redwood Cup will receive $20,000 in the men’s division and $3,000 in the women’s division. However, both teams will be crowned “Canada’s greatest street hockey players”.

PlayOn! Edmonton

The event also benefits local charities as the proceeds from the ‘Hardest shot’ competition will go towards Edmonton’s sports support fund for disadvantaged youth. Also, all proceeds collected from the ‘Corporate’ division will go straight towards the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, one of the national event sponsors.

West Edmonton Mall (WEM) remains one of the title sponsors, as the hosting venue for the tournament. There are few locations in the city that could house an event of this size, but WEM has partnered with ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ to ensure the tournament remains strong in Edmonton.

“They provide us with the space. Without the space, we cant make this thing happen,” said Gerhardt. “It’s a good working partnership, we’re able to bring 25,000 people to their venue over a weekend, which helps them.”

The tournament will continue tomorrow with the playoff portion getting underway. Schedules for the playoffs will be posted on the PlayOn! website at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. For children, there are shootout games, mascots,  and even an Edmonton Oilers Playstation trailer set up to keep hockey fans of all ages entertained.

robbt@mymail.macewan.ca