Merritt Herald
When Polar Carnival and Pond Hockey activities intersect, the week becomes Logan Lake’s busiest of the year. It ended on Jan.16, with the Abbotsford Chiefs “A” Team winning the Recreational Division of the Western Cup of Pond Hockey while Kamloops’ Oronge Beer Nuts won for the fourth year in a row in the Competitive Division.
Friday’s road conditions resulted in teams from the Lower Mainland taking as many as seven hours to get to Logan Lake, but once here the mood was collectively upbeat. However, the weekend’s mild weather continued, leaving the outdoor rinks in such poor condition that an early Sunday morning decision was made to move the tournament to the Rec Centre. Fortunately, teams, who had previously booked the Centre for the day, graciously allowed Pond Hockey to use the space.
The change of venue meant everyone had to move quickly. The set up in the arena was much more restrictive and the ice surface not as good as it had been on the lake. But everyone, including teams and players, pulled together to make the best of a bad situation.
The event concluded with Cups being presented to the winners of each division as well as amazing gift prizes which had been donated by businesses who support the event.
Perhaps the biggest and most surprising announcement came from Dave Prentice, the President of WCPC, who revealed that next year’s event, sponsored by Varion Capital Corporation with offices in Vancouver, Edmonton and Kelowna, will be known as the Varion Cup of Pond Hockey. However, Prentice indicated that, despite the name change and Varion taking over both the tournament’s website as well as its marketing component, this will still remain a Logan Lake event. Thank you for a job well done, to the WCPH organizers, the ATV’ers and their ice clearing buddies, the Grad 2011 concession team, Citizens on Patrol, and all who turned out to volunteer and/or support this incredible community event.