Victoria is hosting hundreds of Western CanadaB次元官网网址檚 top male ball hockey youths this week for the Western Challenge Cup.

The 45-team tournament has five divisions, U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19, with up to 15 players per team. The is hosted by the Greater Victoria Minor Ball Hockey Association, which is entering one team into each division, all as Victoria Vipers.

B次元官网网址淔or us to get this tournament is a testament to how quickly ball hockey has grown in Victoria,B次元官网网址� said Nan Aulakh, a director with the and one of the many volunteers putting together the WCC. B次元官网网址淭he growth is a bit scary at times. We were a small collection of parents and kids organizing a small number of games. Now we have more than 500 athletes.B次元官网网址�

(B次元官网网址 shows Victoria Vipers practice ahead of ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 WCC.)

The tournament starts on Thursday after many months worth of work, with about 90 games in total happening at CFB EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 Wurtele, EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 Archie Browning, North SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Panorama and LangfordB次元官网网址檚 Eagle Ridge rinks.

Teams are coming in from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. That includes 10 teams from the Edmonton and Sherwood Park area, and many from the Lower Mainland. Each is a regional elite team, with clubs pooling the best available talent for each age group.

B次元官网网址淲hen you see the U15 Sherwood Park BallHogz and Alberta Extreme, youB次元官网网址檙e seeing the best players in that group, among the best in Alberta,B次元官网网址� Aulakh said.

Last year the GVMBA sent more teams to the WCC in Sherwood Park than any other association, which Aulakh believes led to them winning the right to host it this year.

B次元官网网址淲e were told they appreciated our commitment and our dedicated group of volunteers,B次元官网网址� Aulakh said.

The challenge in putting together the WCC went far beyond finding the arenas to host the requisite number of games, Aulakh added.

B次元官网网址渢B次元官网网址檚 finding sponsors to cover the costs, itB次元官网网址檚 finding referees, because we do have wonderful referees in Victoria but not enough, and itB次元官网网址檚 finding volunteers for so many things.B次元官网网址�

DonB次元官网网址檛 under estimate the economic impact as entire sections of hotels have been blocked off for teams travelling in.

GVMBA has five U15 boys who will also play for Team BC in Fredericton, N.B., for nationals at the end of July, plus two more on the U17 team and one on the U19 team.

From the sidelines

The skate-free version of hockey is similar due to the rink. ItB次元官网网址檚 five-on-five with shift changes. However, offsides work differently in ball hockey. Once the puck carrier crosses the blue line into the opponentB次元官网网址檚 zone, the offensive zone expands back to the centre line. Rules are also designed to be safer, with no body contact permitted at any age and automatic high-sticking calls over the shoulders.

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