All-Nations tourney going strong for 18 years

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With more than $25,000 in prize money at stake, the 18th annual Lumber Kings All-Nations hockey tournament is not only one of the richest hockey tournaments in the province, but attracts a large and loyal following from players and fans alike.

The tournament takes place April 12 to 14 at the Kin Centres Multiplex in Prince George, which is also the home of the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey league. Sixty teams compete in four divisions determined by the skill level of the teams. The tournament even has an old-timers division for ages 55 and over.

The Lumber Kings sports club tournament was founded by Harley Chingee 19 years ago. Chingee wanted something for the kids to do instead of being on the streets. There have been players that started with the tournament at 15 and are still playing today, he said.

Chingee also likes the fact a lot of teams from areas around Prince George come to play. He said it's drawing a lot of smaller communities into the format and sometimes even entire reserves will follow a team to the tournament. Rivalries between reserves and individual players also make it popular. Chingee said it's been so competitive he's had players request a year ahead of time to want to play certain players from other teams.

The tournament brings about a million dollars to the city during the four days of the tournament.

"It's springtime, and people come to the big city-casinos, swimming pools, all the amenities of the big city. People like to come down at that time of year, get out of their community," said Chingee.

In addition to the money raised from admission, the tournament has 50 sponsors who contribute various amounts of financial support. The tournament raises about $30,000 a year towards prize money and other costs. Gate totals were down the last two years because of the slow economy, said Chingee. He expects attendance to be back up this year, up from the 14,000 the tournament drew last year.

Teams from as far away as the Yukon, Manitoba and Ontario have played in the tournament, with the majority of the teams coming from British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. One of the reasons teams keep returning is the good word of mouth the tournament gets when the teams get home. Chingee said people hear how they get treated and they come back year after year.

For the second year in a row non-Native teams are invited to play in the 'A' division, with the hope that all divisions will have non-Native teams in the future. Chingee wants to draw the non-Native public to come out and watch what he calls "good rough hockey."

Day passes for adults are $12, with students paying $10. Children under seven pay $3 and elders pay $2.