First Annual 3-on-3 Pond Hockey Tournament!
We hosted our first ever 3-on-3 Pond Hockey Tournament on Saturday, January 9. As the weather reports predicted warmer and warmer weather in the week leading up the tournament, and as the creek flooded over and the lagoon caved in, we became more and more concerned. How was it going to work??
Well, it worked all right. IT WAS AMAZING! (It was so amazing that all capital letters are mandatory!) We played all the games on our rink (which is on a cement pad), since the creek was out of the question, and I'm confident that the all-day survival of the ice is a bonafide miracle. I mean, 16 games in seven hours, with a high of 8C? Miracle. Thank you, Lord!
In addition to being a super fun day, we are honoured, encouraged and grateful to our six teams for (a) being our pond hockey guinea pigs; and (b) for raising an amazing $11,507.50 -- almost twice what we'd expected! Thank you, thank you: to the players, spectators and donors!
Pictures can tell a far better story about the Pond Hockey Tournament than I can, so let's look at some pictures! (With thanks to Julia for acting as our "official photographer" for the day.)
On the left:Referee Paul lays down the law before the inaugural game (Enns v. Baerg): "It's gotta be clean! No fighting! No roughing! Don't mess with me!" I'm just kidding about the quotation, but our referees, Paul and Kevin, made sure the teams played clean and didn't lift the puck (safety first!). On the right: Enns v. Baerg underway!
On the top left: Team Gangbusters, which had some serious Quebecois power going on, after their first game. On the top right: Janella, Jonquil, Lisa and Courtney think Clint is hilarious. On the bottom left: Teams transition between games. I think there are players from Linden, Wiebe, GB and Lendrum in that shot! On the bottom right: Baerg plays Lendrum.
On the left: Jay watches the action, eagerly anticipating his next game. In the centre: Sawyer risked life and limb checking out the activity on the ice (don't worry ... this was not allowed when skating and hockey were underway!). On the right: Koda keeps watch as Courtney score-and-time-keeps.
On the top left: Attack of the sunshine while Baerg plays Gangbusters! Will it melt all the ice away? On the top right: Dave, Colter and Emily use our homemade zamboni, hoping to repair the ice ... without melting it further. On the bottom left: Dave, our ice technician (and zamboni creator), checks out the freezing to melting ratios. Craig stands on the ice, probably thinking, "well, so much for that!" On the bottom right: Success! Post zamboni, Team Linden flies down the ice.
On the left: Sticks in waiting. On the right: Mmm, coffee. And, the day's schedule (I need to find a prettier way to display that next year!).
On the left: The final game was an all-Dalhousie showdown, Enns v. Wiebe. Team Enns prevailed, securing first place. Yee haw! On the right: We managed to get a shot of about half of the players before everyone hit the dinning hall for a tasty and well deserved dinner.
Well, it worked all right. IT WAS AMAZING! (It was so amazing that all capital letters are mandatory!) We played all the games on our rink (which is on a cement pad), since the creek was out of the question, and I'm confident that the all-day survival of the ice is a bonafide miracle. I mean, 16 games in seven hours, with a high of 8C? Miracle. Thank you, Lord!
In addition to being a super fun day, we are honoured, encouraged and grateful to our six teams for (a) being our pond hockey guinea pigs; and (b) for raising an amazing $11,507.50 -- almost twice what we'd expected! Thank you, thank you: to the players, spectators and donors!
Pictures can tell a far better story about the Pond Hockey Tournament than I can, so let's look at some pictures! (With thanks to Julia for acting as our "official photographer" for the day.)
On the left:Referee Paul lays down the law before the inaugural game (Enns v. Baerg): "It's gotta be clean! No fighting! No roughing! Don't mess with me!" I'm just kidding about the quotation, but our referees, Paul and Kevin, made sure the teams played clean and didn't lift the puck (safety first!). On the right: Enns v. Baerg underway!
On the top left: Team Gangbusters, which had some serious Quebecois power going on, after their first game. On the top right: Janella, Jonquil, Lisa and Courtney think Clint is hilarious. On the bottom left: Teams transition between games. I think there are players from Linden, Wiebe, GB and Lendrum in that shot! On the bottom right: Baerg plays Lendrum.
Top row: The kids had loads of fun in the snow. Bottom rows: A crew of spectators accepted a wagon ride from Jon, Duke and Diamond. The unseasonably warm weather was definitely a bonus for the spectating crowd.
On the left: Jay watches the action, eagerly anticipating his next game. In the centre: Sawyer risked life and limb checking out the activity on the ice (don't worry ... this was not allowed when skating and hockey were underway!). On the right: Koda keeps watch as Courtney score-and-time-keeps.
On the top left: Attack of the sunshine while Baerg plays Gangbusters! Will it melt all the ice away? On the top right: Dave, Colter and Emily use our homemade zamboni, hoping to repair the ice ... without melting it further. On the bottom left: Dave, our ice technician (and zamboni creator), checks out the freezing to melting ratios. Craig stands on the ice, probably thinking, "well, so much for that!" On the bottom right: Success! Post zamboni, Team Linden flies down the ice.
On the left: The final game was an all-Dalhousie showdown, Enns v. Wiebe. Team Enns prevailed, securing first place. Yee haw! On the right: We managed to get a shot of about half of the players before everyone hit the dinning hall for a tasty and well deserved dinner.
We'll see you in January 2011,
at our second Annual Pond Hockey Tournament!
at our second Annual Pond Hockey Tournament!
Comments
Fantastic pictures Julia! (I might need a copy of that one with cute little Sawyer!)