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Orillia Hawks tourney soars despite arena challenges (4 photos)

'It’s been a lot of chaos' this year, says official, noting 32 teams were turned away due to arena issues

Teams from around Ontario are in Orillia today for the 22nd annual Orillia Hawks Girls Tournament.

Orillia Girls Hockey Association (OGHA) president and tournament director Les Blackwell says the event brings 62 house-league and competitive teams to Rotary Place, Brian Orser Arena and the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki (MASK).

“We have all of our teams here in Orillia out playing today,” he said. “We have teams from down south, central Ontario, and as far as Kapuskasing.”

The Rotary Place closures that date back to October caused the OGHA to cut 32 teams from the tournament this year.

“We didn’t think we were going to have all of the ice that we have,” Blackwell said. “Honestly, we were quite unsure if the city was going to keep it open.”

Despite the arena issues, he says it hasn’t been a lost season for local teams.

“It’s been a lot of chaos and last-minute changes to schedules,” he said. “We had a lot of our games and practices out at the MASK. We had teams in Baysville, Bala and places like that.”

Blackwell credits volunteers, coaches and players for rescuing the season and finding alternative options.

Sydney Mccarrel, who plays U18BB with the Orillia Hawks, says the season is going well for her team despite ice-time challenges.

“It’s been up and down for us,” she said. “We’ve had a couple of losses and a couple of wins. It’s been going good.”

To make up for lost ice time, Mccarrel says, her team is playing three to four times a week.

“We get a little worn out,” she said. “We are all doing our best and adapting to it.” 

It’s better than not having hockey at all, she says.

“It was pretty tough when the arena shutdown happened,” she said. “We were all kind of sitting around, not doing anything.”

Blackwell says the tournament gives local teams that lost ice time four to six games this weekend. It’s also important financially for the organization.

“This tournament is a big part of what keeps the organization funded,” he said. “Basically, the fees that we charge aren’t quite enough for the ice, jerseys, refs and timekeepers. It’s a very expensive organization to run.”

Each year, the Orillia Hawks Girls Tournament brings in $30,000 to $40,000 in profit for the organization. This year, it will make half of that with having to cut teams back in December.

The tournament also helps the local economy.

“We have about 50 teams from out of town here,” Blackwell said. “At one point, we figured that this tournament brings in more than $1 million into hospitality in the area.”

The three-day tournament ends Sunday. The championship games start at 2 p.m. and the last one is at 6 p.m. All of the final games take place at Rotary Place. The full schedule and standings can be found here.


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Tyler Evans

About the Author: Tyler Evans

Tyler Evans got his start in the news business when he was just 15-years-old and now serves as a video producer and reporter with OrilliaMatters
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