STC to host hockey championships

There’s good news and bad news for those running this year’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC).                                                                                                                                               

To get the bad news out of the way first, there will in all likelihood be far fewer participants in the tournament than all previous years. The good news, however, is that the NAHC will indeed be staged in 2011, a scenario that was in doubt several weeks ago.

For awhile it appeared the Aboriginal Sports Circle (ASC) would have to cancel its annual national tournament as a suitable host had not been found even after bid submissions to host the event had been extended.                                                                                                                                                              
Then, during the second week of January, the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) offered to host this year’s tournament. ASC board members offered to accept STC’s offer on Jan. 21. As a result, this year’s event will begin in Saskatoon on Apr. 26 and continue until May 1.

“The Saskatoon Tribal Council is proud to say that we like setting the bar high to put on an excellent event for the youth to participate,” said Mark Arcand, the co-chair of the host organizing committee. “We have the experience, dedication, commitment and manpower to make the NAHC a showcase of Aboriginal youth.”

Unfortunately, however, this year’s NAHC will not be a true national tournament. That’s because only four provinces - Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario - have confirmed that they will be sending both female and male teams to the event. Usually there are about 10 female and 10 male squads that represent their province or region in the tournament. Though others would also be welcome to take part, many previous participating teams decided not to compete this year because of the delays and uncertainties in announcing a host site.

Norman Ettawacappo, the ASC’s Major Games Liaison, believes the number of confirmed entrants is not necessarily a discouraging fact. That’s even though previous tournaments have had more than double the number of confirmed entries thus far.

“This isn’t that bad,” he said. “The less teams you have the easier it is for the hosts to service them.”

Ettawacappo added various other national championships have been held in several sports that have only attracted representation from a few provinces. ASC chair Tex Marshall is thrilled the NAHC was not cancelled.

“I think it would have been very disappointing,” he said. “Especially for those who are in their final year of eligibility in this age group.” The NAHC features bantam- and midget-aged players.

The female division, however, also allows some over-agers to compete. Marshall said he’s not surprised groups are unwilling to stage the tournament in their city.
“I think it’s a championship that has a lot of costs associated with it,” he said. “That’s probably why regions are hesitant to host it.”

Ettawacappo also said the fact a possible host for the 2011 NAHC had not surfaced earlier was not a shock.

“I’m not surprised because of the challenges faced by previous hosts,” he said. “Most of them have broken even or they’ve lost money.”

Though they do receive registration fees from participating squads, the hosts are obligated to buy jerseys for all participating players in the tournament. Plus they have to organize a banquet for all entrants. Tournament expenses also start to pile up when considering ice rental costs and officiating fees.

Ettawacappo added some previous hosts have also paid for some of the meal expenses for participants. Or they’ve subsidized their accommodations during the tournament. A host for the 2010 tournament was also difficult to find. Since there was no group interested in hosting  that event, the ASC was forced to step in and organized the tourney with its own officials, staging it in Ottawa.                                                                                                                                                           
Ettawacappo said that was a scene which could not be repeated this year.

“We just had a change in management,” he said. “We didn’t have the manpower to do this.”

No doubt it would have been a dark moment if the ASC had cancelled this year’s NAHC. Even more so considering the 2011 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), which were slated for Milwaukee this summer, were previously cancelled.

The NAIG Council nixed those games after Milwaukee pulled out as host and a suitable replacement site could not be found. Ettawacappo said having to cancel another major Aboriginal sporting event would have been rather disappointing. “That’s been a fear for some of the board members and hockey committee members,” he said. “It wouldn’t look good for the ASC even though we’re separate from the NAIG Council.”